Cynthia's Return
by Shadow9841
Summary: Cynthia loses to a challenger in the official title match. It isn't just any challenger either. It was Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Cynthia thought she would be okay with this but something nagged at the back of her head that it didn't sit right. She left to Unova, deciding to train much harder now at her Villa before taking off to an unnamed Region. Maybe Rayshipping. Maybe...
1. chapter 1

**Greetings! This is an idea that popped into my head that I really want to try. I've seen Ash betrayed and leave, I've seen Ash become the master, I've seen Ash betray his friends. So I decided to not do any of those! Instead, I am going to make a fic where Cynthia loses to Ash and she decided that she needed to get stronger still. So she leaves and eventually, creates a new league with a new elite, new set of gyms, and everything with her at the helm as the champion. She then decides to get together with the league officials to create a tournament. She wanted revenge but more importantly, she wanted her title of Pokémon Master back. Hopefully this idea doesn't become a bust!**

"In order to understand why it is that I am about to ask this of you, you first need to know my story."

"I'm sure that I already know most of your story."

"Not all of it."

"Then what don't I know?"

"You're about to find out. See, it all started three years ago..."

 **Three Years Ago**

Garchomp looked up weakly at her opponent, her eyes narrowed before her body gave out and she collapsed, her eyes being replaced with swirls to signal that she was fainted.

"Garchomp!" Her trainer yelled.

 _"Garchomp is unable to battle! Champion Cynthia has lost all six Pokémon! Therefore, the winner of this Championship match is Ash of Pallet Town!"_ The referre yelled out which was received with silence at first.

Nobody could believe their eyes. Champion Cynthia had lost and to a kid who couldn't have been any older than 15. After a bit, the cheers slowly started to build up as everyone started to cheer and clap as Cynthia approached garchomp and kneeled down.

"Thank you... my friend. You fought the hardest you could. Take a long rest." She said-

 **Current Day**

"I already know all of this. Are you leading up to the fact that you're washed up now at the young age of 23?"

"No. It's a long story but I suppose I can summarize what I assume everyone knows."

"Yes. It'll make everything progress much faster."

 **Three Years Ago**

Cynthia had congratulated Ash for defeating her and becoming the Champion of Sinnoh before healing her Pokémon and taking Ash through the routine that would now be his job as Champion. The paperwork, taking care of the issues that arrive in the region, meetings he would need to attend, maybe throwing the occasional tournaments and-

 **Current Day**

"You're a slow story teller. You know that?"

"Fine. I'll speed it up."

 **Three Years Ago**

Anyway, she basically just gave him the run down of how to run the region. The rest she trusted he could figure out. What she wasn't expecting was to have her Pokémon Master status revoked. Since she was finally defeated, she not only lost her Champion title but also her title as the strongest trainer. And Ash had taken her record for youngest Champion. While hers was 18, Ash was only 15.

He took everything and he didn't even mean to. She couldn't blame him and she didn't. She just felt like she didn't deserve to lose her title. One loss did not put her below others in terms of the power rankings for Pokémon Master but it did. She had dropped down to number 2 with the loss to Ash and that is what disappointed her. Ash didn't become Pokémon Master though. No.

 **Current Day**

"Wait, he beat you but he didn't earn the title of Pokémon Master?"

"He did not. We have a ranking system. He didn't have enough points to move up high enough. However, my losing to him, someone who had far less points than me, dropped me down exponentially which meant that the person below me suddenly surpassed me."

"I see. I wonder where I am in that scaling."

"Well, while I was number one, you were six. Currently though, I haven't checked."

"Damn. Not bad."

"Not Bad indeed. Anyway, moving on..."

 **Three Years Ago**

Ash didn't earn the rank of Pokémon Master but he did move up a lot while Cynthia dropped. And so, Lance had taken over as Pokémon Master. This had disappointed her and when Ash offered to have her in his Elite 4, she had immediately declined. Work under a kid? Absolutely not. She instead left for Undella Town where she had her Villa.

She chose Undella instead of Celestic because aside from the Summer, Undella was basically deserted which meant she could train privately. For three years, she dropped off the face of Pokémon fights. Her ranking continued to go down while Ash's continued to rise the longer he held onto her Champion spot.

Three years later, she had trained her team up harder than she ever had before and in order to bond with her Pokémon on a deeper level, she trained with them. Going through the same exercises which basically placed her at the peak of her physical fitness at just the young age of 23. Her health and strength soared as her rankings dropped.

Once she felt like her Pokémon had hit a level above everyone else, she left Unova and took to the city of Aurelia. The region Aurelia was based in did not have an official name due to it not having a Pokémon League. However life was very bright there. The grass was green, resources were very abundant, Pokémon from all over went there for all sorts of of things.

It was the perfect place to set up. She had met with the Mayor, met with the Pokémon League officials who were shocked to see she was still around, and once she finally got the approval, She decided to set up the Champion stadium in Aurelia since it was the first place she arrived to in the new Region. The Region still required Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members so that's what she was doing now.

She is recruiting.

 **Current Day**

"And that is my story summed up. And Also why I am here." Cynthia said to the young man sitting across from her.

The man leaned forward, gazing into her one silver eye carefully, his own Electric blue eyes studying her carefully.

"You want me to join you." He finally said.

"Not just join me. I want you to be my 4th Elite. I've seen your battles. The mind games you play coupled with your strength and years of experience would be perfect as the leader of the Elite 4." She said and the man leans back a little.

"Rule alongside you." He said.

"In a way, yes. As my 4th, You would be allowed to come to meetings with me or go for me if I am ever unavailable." She said.

"I haven't battled in a while."

"Nearly four years. Your ranking used to be three when I was at one four years ago. Then only one year later, your number never rose again which means you had quit." She replied.

"Yea. That's correct."

Cynthia pulled out a watch and slid it to the middle of the table as a hologram of the power rankings shows up, displaying the top five first.

"Courtesy of one Professor Oak. I will be handing these out to each of my Elites. My 4th will obviously be a bit more special than the other three. He or she will have direct access to me meaning you can call or text me at any time. However the other three must relay their message through you. Once you have decided it is important enough, then you can either forward it to me or you handle it. Now why I pulled up our rankings. We both haven't fought in years which puts us at..." she scrolls down the rankings until she reaches the end.

"Not even ranked." He said and she nods.

"They think we have quit entirely. They don't know where we are. Only the officials know I am planning on making a comeback but until I start fighting again, they can't rank me." She said as she closes the rankings and spins the watch on the table.

The man looked to be hard in thought which made Cynthia wait for an answer. She was currently wearing a light blue sleevless collar shirt with a tear drop zipper, black pants, and her typical black and yellow heels. She also had a jacket much smaller than the one she used to have. It was similar but smaller and more for winter and it was currently neatly placed on the chair behind her. Accessories, she had on the watch PokEx from Professor Oak which had a lot of features but that's for later and the typical four tear shaped hair clips that are black with yellow lines tracing the circle shape.

The man himself had short black hair that was a messy clean kind of look with Electric blue eyes. His muscles were very well built but not enormous to where it looked weird. He was wearing a blood red shirt with black jeans and combat boots. On his chair was a black winter jacket laid out neatly as well. For accessories, he had a necklace with a golden shark tooth hanging off of it. He pondered on what Cynthia said a little while longer before looking up to meet her gaze.

"What makes you think I'm up for the 4th slot?"

"I will personally train you. On top of all the skill you already possess, I will help you shake off the rust and improve in the process." She replied without a second thought.

She was serious about this.

"I'll do it this way. Battle me one Pokémon each. There you can decide if my skill level is good enough still to be the 4th member. If you still think so, You've got yourself your 4th member." He said.

"Very well. We can go to my place. There's a field out back." She replied.

He nods and stands up, putting on his jacket and Cynthia followed suit. One pro of having left battling so long was that these two were considered average citizens once again. They arrive outside, noticing that it started to snow while they were inside. Cynthia called out garchomp and climbed on and the man followed suit, Garchomp immediately taking off into the sky with blinding speed.

The city was hard to see currently due to the snow falling but without it, one would say it was huge. Towering skyscrapers, beautiful two to three story houses depending on the neighborhood. They even had mansions. Expensive restaurants. One would argue that this city was simply for the rich and maybe it was. Cynthia had more than enough saved up from her time as Champion and it was money well spent.

When Garchomp reached her neighborhood, it slowed down before stopping in front of a large three story house. It wasn't as large as the mansion in her Villa but it was still gorgeous to her. Three floors, a balcony. It was square shaped with a triangular roof as expected of most houses. It had an extra few windows at the top for the attic on top of the already many windows. The house itself was made of the red brick except for the roof. The door was a nice mahogany brown color that seemed to be nice and shiny as Cynthia turned the Golden knob, opening the door after returning her Garchomp.

The man followed and took in the sights. When he first walked in, he was greeted to red velvet carpeting with two spiraling stair cases on either side of the room both with the same carpet and golden handles. In front was a door which was the same color as the one outside. On the roof of the first room was a large chandelier that illuminated the entire room. The walls were a very nice mahogany wood as well, the door having a golden trimming to seperate it from the rest of the wall.

As she opened the door in the middle of the room, they were greeted to a massive room with a battlefield in the center, the typical battlefield color and logo except that the usual white trimmings were golden. The rest of the room was full of gym equipment and plenty of space for sparring. Cynthia walked to the field before turning to face him.

"What do you think?" She asked as he approached the field and noted that it was larger than your typical civilian trainer field.

"It's different." He said.

"I had it made. I had this massive space and no reason to use it. Then I just put this field here and it became a place my Pokémon could train." She said.

"I'm impressed. So we using our strongest?"

"No need. I can tell everything I need to know by the way you battle." she said as she pulled off her jacket but the man kept his on.

"Alright then. On the count of three." He said as he picked a Pokeball and Cynthia picked one as well.

They count up from one to three before both throwing their Pokeballs at the same time, both opening up to respective battle cries. On one end, it was a Lucario and the other end, a Houndoom.

"A Houndoom. Can't say I've seen those around often." She said, the Houndoom stretching and shaking itself off as it gazes at the Lucario.

"Yea well, I've always been fond of them. Flamethrower." He said and Houndoom nodded, opening his mouth and releasing a torrent of fire.

"Bone rush." Cynthia replied calmly and Lucario yelled as he slammed an Aura Bone staff on the ground, the flamethrower hitting it and the flamethrower splitting open which made Houndoom stop his attack.

"Aura Sphere." She said and Lucario charged one up before letting it fly towards Houndoom and Houndoom braced himself.

"Dark Pulse." He replied back and Houndoom leaped up into the air, charging the swirling dark energy in his mouth before letting it fly towards Lucario after having avoided the Aura Sphere.

"Quick, dodge it and use Bone Rush." Cynthia replied quickly, Lucario dashing towards Houndoom and avoiding the Dark Pulse as he made the bone appear again before smashing it against Houndoom's head before immediately twirling it and uppercutting Houndoom which sent him howling back and slamming into the ground before slowly climbing back to its feet and snarling a little.

"Keep calm and use Flamethrower and charge in." He said and Houndoom dashed forward it, releasing a torrent of flames.

"Hurry and dodge then use Close Combat!" Cynthia yelled and Lucario immediately dashed to the side to avoid before leaping at Houndoom to hit him.

"Crunch!" The man suddenly called out And Houndoom immediately bit down on Lucario's hand, throwing him up before leaping up and biting down on his foot, yanking him down and sending him hurdling to the ground.

"Not bad." Cynthia said and made sure Lucario was still good to go. "Aura Sphere!" She yelled.

Lucario yelled and Charged an Aura Sphere before sending it sailing towards Houndoom.

"Flamethrower!" He yelled back.

"Mach Punch!" She said immediately.

Houndoom released the torrent of flames, exploding the Aura Sphere only to see a lightning fast Lucario slam his fist into Houndoom's cheek, sending him skidding back as he struggles to get up but still managed.

"You good, bud?" He asked and Houndoom growled in approval which made him nod as his eyes narrow.

This fight was just a trade out. He needed to find the upper hand.

"Mach Punch!" She yelled and he smirked.

"Fire Blast!" He said quickly and Cynthia's eyes widened as Lucario charged in quickly only to be met by a massive Fire Blast at point blank range, sending Lucario soaring right back to Cynthia's feet, Lucario slowly struggling to get to his feet.

That was super effective. She couldn't take one more hit. She looked over at Houndoom who was tired out but it looked like it still had energy to go and she didn't want to risk hurting her Pokémon any worse.

"I think that's enough." She said which surprised the young man but he nodded and Houndoom relaxed, getting pet by his trainer now which makes his tail wag.

"You take a good rest, Lucario." She said and Lucario nodded as she returned him before approaching the young man.

"Welcome to the Elite 4." She said and shook his hand which he accepted as he returned Houndoom.

"You are my 4th. I look forward to working with you, Blaze." She said with a smile and Blaze smiled back.

 **So that was my attempt. The fight scene felt a little meh honestly but hopefully those should get better as the chapters progress. I am truthfully not entirely sure where I want this to lead. I'm also wondering if I should make my own OC's for the other Elites or maybe make a whole SYOC thing. I'm not decided on that yet. Anyway, that was the first chapter. I truly do hope it was somewhat fun to read and made you look forward to the next one. Peace out for now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Something to note really quick. Pokémon aren't limited to only four moves in this story. I think that becomes boring and restraining. So that won't happen.**

Chapter 2: Elites and a League

"Just let me do the talking. This one is... difficult from what I've read." Cynthia said as her and Blaze approach a cafe and he raised an eyebrow.

"Difficult sounds more my area. Aren't you the compassionate one?" He asked and she looked back at him for a second.

"That's why I should be the one to speak with her." She replied and he sighed but didn't answer.

Cynthia and Blaze were on their way to speak to a young woman about joining their Elite 4. They needed an official Elite 4 and Champion to host the tournament. Cynthia didn't much care for her title of Champion. But as master, she was able to make a difference in the world. A positive influence. She knew Lance was no longer Master but she didn't know who the current one was.

She walked through the small cafe before she smiled as she saw who she was looking for.

"There." she said and Blaze checked who she was pointing to before frowning.

"She's... kinda depressing." He said.

"Don't let that fool you. She's got the strength. She's got the intelligence. She has the speed. I choose carefully." She said and they sat down. "Miranda?" Cynthia asked.

The woman had a similar skin tone to Cynthia's which contrasted her shiny black hair that went down to her back in waves, some of the hair pushed to the left on her forehead. Her eyes slowly open revealing a Ruby Red color behind them and she gazed at Cynthia before her gaze fell on Blaze.

Miranda was still young. Maybe 21 at the youngest but she looked like she was 18. She was currently wearing black leather pants with two zippers on each thigh, mostly just for decoration. Higher, she had on a violet long sleeve button up blouse with a dress jacket over that and a winter jacket above the dress jacket. For accessories, she had a necklace with a worn pokeball on it and sunglasses on her head. Despite the vibe Blaze got, this woman was dressed to impress and without the weird vibe, gorgeous.

Her eyes seem to glow red for a split second but he noticed and she blinked softly before gazing at Cynthia.

"Cynthia. A pleasure to see you after you've been gone for so long. I will admit, I was not expecting this call at all." She said and Blaze leaned over to Cynthia.

"She speaks." He said, blinking and Cynthia waved him back, red eyes following him as he did.

"Miranda, I do apologize for bringing you back when you wished to be left alone but I need your help." She said.

"You want to host the tournament. You want your title back. Sadly you don't have power over that. Even as a Champion." Miranda suddenly said and Cynthia looked at her.

"I see you are still reading minds."

"I am a Psychic. It is what we do." She said simply.

"But when the Master holds a tournament, The Champion and the Elites are invited. So something could still come of this. And with how well this region is, giving it a Champion could further help it become recognized." Cynthia decided to add.

"Yes it could use a little sprucing up. The metropolitan area here just isn't what it used to be." Miranda said softly, her gaze shifting from Cynthia to Blaze once more then back to her. "I was not expecting an extra guest originally."

"Blaze is my 4th. And I was going to make you my 3rd if you're interested."

"Work under him?" She asked, her eyes flashing but she remained calm.

"Not necessarily. He is the strongest but you would still be held in equal esteem. He just has more contact with me since in league rules, he is considered the leader of the Elite 4. But, outside of all of that, you all have equal say." Cynthia said, her own voice calm.

"I see." Was all she said.

"You've dropped out of the rankings too in the last three years. For one reason or another. I'm offering you a shot at making it back in. Show people that you haven't quit. You're strong. You were dominant in your specialty, even beating out Sabrina. So, join us..."

"We have cookies." Blaze said which earned him a glare but Miranda had an amused smile work its way on her lips.

"Planning on taking the Master League won't be easy."

"No it won't. But I can train you." She said. "All of you."

Miranda pondered over this. The thought of coming out of her early retirement seemed like a bad idea but, she did miss it. And she was still young. Younger than both of them. Perhaps it was something she could at least take into consideration.

"I will have your answer in approximately three days." Miranda said simply but the answer was enough for Cynthia.

"Of course. Thank you for your time." She said and Miranda nodded.

"Wait that's it?" Blaze asked and they both look at him.

"Yes. That's it." Miranda simply said and he blinked before looking at Cynthia who simply nodded.

"Oh. Okay then." He said and nods a little, backing away and walking out of the café with Cynthia, the snow crunching under their feet as they left.

"Intense." He said and Cynthia simply smiled.

"I would say formal fits the bill better. Something you don't seem to like." She said.

"Anything formal is something I dislike." He replied. "So who's next?"

"Phyllip. He's not here in Barthstone. He's back in Aurelia." She said.

Barthstone was quite different from Aurelia. While the latter had skyscrapers and huge buildings and worked basically like a capital, the former was smaller. It was still an average sized city but the buildings weren't skyscrapers and it was more peaceful as opposed to the latter being constantly bustling with city life. Theaters, stores everywhere, the whole nine yards of a huge city.

"Phyllip. That name is familiar." He said.

"I would expect so. He is a chef at Oliveraie. A famous Chef. Nice French Restaurant too." She said.

"Why do we want a chef in the Elite?"

"Well, he used to be in the Kalos Elite 4 before Diantha took over. Used to be number 3 there actually."

"What is it with Kalos and chefs?" He asked.

"I don't know. Let's not ask questions we don't know the answer to and focus on what we do know." She said and smiled at him and he shrugs before nodding.

 **Back In Aurelia**

Getting a quick ride back to Aurelia took only about half an hour. The massive buildings covered in snow letting them know when they arrived. They drove to the restaurant that Phyllip was at and the smell immediately hit them once they exited the car.

"Oh... that's nice." He muttered and they enter the restaurant, shaking off the snow that slightly built up on them before opening the doors and walking through.

They were met with a dark room, dimly lit by chandeliers all throughout, beautiful velvet carpeting, dark walls and windows that would provide a gorgeous view if it weren't completely white outside from the snow. The tables were a mahogany color, all round with two chairs at the minimum and four at the most. Candles wrapped in red were on every table, several people softly chatting away while eating.

"Bonjour. Bienvenue to Oliveraie." A woman said and they turned to face her, Cynthia smiling.

"Hello. We aren't here to eat. We're looking for someone who works here." She said and the woman looked at her.

"Oh? And who is this person you seek?" She asked in a french accent.

"Phyllip. One of your chefs." She replied.

"Oh oui! Phyllip is currently preoccupied but you are more than welcome to wait till he is free." She said and Cynthia nodded.

"That will work."

They found a small room that had some magazines and black chairs, a chandelier on the roof which gave better lighting than the restaurant itself. It looked to be a waiting room which worked perfectly. Cynthia found her gaze glued to a magazine Blaze had picked up. More specifically, the words on it.

Exclusive Interview with the Pokémon Master.

"Let me see that." She said without thinking and Blaze raised an eyebrow before grabbing another one from the stack and handing it to her.

On the cover was someone who made her mind start to spin, both with happiness and slight anger. This was the one who took her Champion title and the title of Pokémon Master away from her. The one who made her want to leave and train harder than she ever had. She was both proud but also slightly hurt. Not because she was mad. But because her pride had been snapped when she lost it.

She gripped the magazine tighter, eyes fixated on the young adult on the cover who was grinning that childish grin as always with a pikachu on his shoulder, the same grin on his face.

"You..." she muttered and Blaze looked up confused.

"What?" He asked but her mind was spinning.

Ash was on the cover. Why? Why was he on the cover? But then it hit her. She placed the magazine down and quickly opened the Rankings, scrolling to the top and she couldn't help the feeling that invaded her. Pain. Staring at her was the face of Ash Ketchum, a golden large number one next to him along with the points next to that number.

"Ash is Pokémon Master." She muttered softly.

"Oh yea. I had almost forgotten the story you gave me." He said and she frowned.

Again, she wasn't mad. She was quite happy for the boy with the Pikachu. All he had ever wanted for the last eight years is finally his. But she wanted it back. Her pride was burning and it was telling her to take it back. She knew she would have to pass it along eventually but she was hoping that that wouldn't happen for a good while longer.

She opened the magazine and stopped at a question. The very first question actually.

 _'What do you plan to do about the Power Rankings now that you are Pokémon Master? You said you wanted it to change.'_

The answer was something that made Cynthia smile. Glad for the boys answer and for the fact that it still showed how kind yet excited he was about Pokémon.

 _'I do want it to change. Pokémon Master shouldn't be decided simply by who has more points in the rankings. Cynthia and Lance did an amazing job at their post but they could have just as easily done a poor job. Pokémon Master should not be who has more points, rather, it should be who wins the tournament and passes a series of tests to see whether or not they are fit to improve the Regions. This is why I am planning on shutting down the ranking system and using the Master League as a way to see who the Pokémon Master will be.'_

"How interesting. Using the Master League does make more sense." Blaze said and Cynthia nodded.

It seems Blaze had read the same question as Cynthia. But she did agree. This would make things more fair and adding tests at the end can stop people like Giovanni or Ghetsis or any other crime lord from becoming Master. She couldn't lie. It was genius.

 _'So if you are planning on having the Master League determine the Pokémon Master, would it be held yearly?"_

That was also a good question. How long did she have to get ready to be eligible?

 _'I'm thinking every four years. It gives the Master four years to prove him or herself fit to be Master and time to prepare for the next League.'_

"Ma'am? Sir?" A waitress spoke up which got their attention.

"Yes?" Cynthia asked.

"Phyllip will see you now." She said and Cynthia nodded, placing down the magazine and standing up, being led to the back with Blaze.

There they see a lone man, maybe 25 years old so only two years older, sitting down on a table by himself. He had dirty blond hair that was short and had a clean style to it, blue eyes, not as sharp as Blaze's electric but more like a sky blue almost. He was wearing a white button up shirt with a black vest and bow tie and black dress pants along with black dress shoes. The typical fancy dress up. They approach and he looks up, smiling.

"Ah, Mademoiselle Shirona! Has been many nights since you last graced my restaurant with your beauty!" He said and she smiled nervously, sweat dropping.

"Hello, Phyllip. You look well." She said and he stands up, taking her hand and kissing it which made her sweat drop again.

"It is you who has graced this humble man with this view of a goddess before me." He said and Blaze looked at Phyllip then at Cynthia.

"You can't be serious." He said and she sighed.

"Phyllip, I have a request... more like an offer." She started.

"She's serious. Great." He said with an eye roll.

"Ah! Whatever it is, it would be my utmost pleasure to please you." He said.

"No shame, huh?" Blaze mumbled as he watched and he couldn't help but wonder what Miranda would think of this guy.

"Well, I'm looking for someone to serve in my Elite 4. I'm setting down here in Aurelia so you would still be close to your restaurant." She said and both her and Blaze sweat drop when they hear his gasp, like an exaggerated, about to cry one.

"Mon coeur." He said softly. "My goddess wishes for me to be by her side." He said and she sighed.

"Not necessarily. My 4th does most of that and my 4th is right here." She said and points to Blaze who simply waved once.

The world suddenly turned purple and black and Phyllip seems to have turned completely white, his eyes white and wide like saucers, his hands cupping his cheeks as his mouth is open wide in a rectangular shape, making a sad squeal sound before the random moment suddenly shatters and he is on his knees, a storm cloud suddenly just forming on his head as the rain starts to fall only on him.

"Okay. This guy is too intense. I'm waiting outside." He said but Cynthia grabbed his collar and yanked him back.

"Absolutely not." She hissed before facing Phyllip who looked more broken than a kicked puppy.

"Okay, Phyllip the position is still available if you want it." She said then screamed and jumped on Blaze who went rigid as Phyllip suddenly shot up, standing tall and proud, a random little star flying off of him.

"Tis would by my greatest honor, mademoiselle Shirona." He said, sniffling.

"Great." Blaze said unenthusiastically as he lets Cynthia down.

"Thank you, Phyllip. You will be a great addition." She said with a smile and he nods, standing tall and firm.

"Oui!" He said loudly which made Blaze start to walk away but Cynthia stopped him again.

"Once I get our last member and the answer from our 3rd, I will send you all a message on where to meet up with me." She said which made Phyllip nod and Blaze stared at him, his hands in his pocket.

Now finally, Cynthia decided to say her goodbyes and left with Blaze who was more than happy to get out of there.

"I think that's good enough for today. You head on home and I'll take care of a few things." She said and Blaze nodded, pulling out a Pokeball to reveal an Alakazam who used teleport to get him home.

Cynthia on the other hand took out her Garchomp before climbing on the Mach Pokémon and telling him to fly to the offical Pokémon League headquarters.

The fly there took a little over a day so Cynthia had to rest her Garchomp and camp out at a hotel but eventually, they did make it. She walked in and walked up to the receptionist who had a look of surprise on her face.

"Miss Shirona. Nobody has heard from you in forever." the lady said and Cynthia nodded.

"I do apologize Dolores. I need to speak with Charles." She said. "It's important."

 **In Charles' office.**

"You've surprised me with this news. It is great to see you and that you are making a comeback but, starting up a whole new league. You said it's in Aurelia. Aurelia is located in an unnamed region. There is a lot of paperwork and-"

"I'll do it. Whatever is necessary." She said quickly and Charles sighed.

"There's no stopping you is there?" He asked and she smiled.

"You know me, Charles. I don't back down easily."

"All you young people are the same." He said but he was smiling. "It is good to have you back, Cynthia."

"It's good to be back. So, we gonna talk business?" She asked and he relented and nodded.

So after lots of paperwork, all that was left was the Champion and the Elite 4. The league would provide the gyms.

"I haven't exactly gotten all four yet." She said and Charles looked at her.

"How many are you missing?"

"Technically only one."

"Technically?" He asked.

"Well, I already have confirmed from Phyllip and Blaze. Miranda said she would have an answer in three days. Well, two now. And I have yet to seek my last one. Although I do have a good idea of someone." She said.

"You going to tell me who?" He asked and she simply smiled at him. "I thought so."

"I'll come right back once everything is confirmed. Until then, I'll be heading back to Sūna. Interesting name by the way." She said and stood up, shaking his hand before walking out.

 **Three Days Later.**

Miranda had contacted Cynthia, saying she was in which left only one person who Cynthia was meeting right now. She had requested to meet at her workout gym. Not Pokémon gym. Workout. So she simply accepted, silently walking into the gym and looking around. Just your standard workout equipment. Machines, free weights, the whole biz.

She said she would be in her office and since it appeared to be closed but the door was unlocked, Cynthia assumed that this girl wanted her to approach the office. She knocked on the office door before she heard curtains moving then the door opened.

There was a girl, 18 years old. She had shoulder length pink hair with brown eyes, wearing a Karate outfit with a black belt around it. In terms of accessories, she only had a bracelet housing a mega stone.

"Hiya!" She said. "Thanks for meeting me. The name is Charlie."

"Hello, Charlie. I'm Cynthia. You know why I'm here?" Cynthia asked.

"You're looking for your last Elite member. Well, I feel like I can fill that role." She said.

"Just like that?" Cynthia asked.

"Yup! Being this young and on the Elite 4!? It would rock!" She said happily.

Cynthia decided that she should think. Miranda and Blaze would no doubt want Phyllip to be as far from them as possible. Despite their opinion on each other, Cynthia noticed that they were quite similar on some occasions. Having Charlie around would balance the silent with the hyper and it would be nice having someone younger. Plus, it would give Phyllip someone to hang out with cause there is no way the more quiet ones, Blaze and Miranda, would want the louder ones near them.

"Ummmm. Yea. Sure. Go right ahead. Yea you're in." Cynthia said and smiled. "You'll be number one. While number one is the weakest, you are still strong enough to be considered an Elite so make us proud."

"Yes! I will!" She said happily.

 **The Next Day.** Blaze, Phyllip, Miranda, and Charlie were all standing inside of a dark room in the center which was the only source of light at the moment from the sun.

"So, anyone know why she called us here?" Blaze asked.

Miranda simply just shrugged.

"Whatever mademoiselle wishes from us, we shall be here in wait." Phyllip said which made Blaze sigh a little.

"Impatient aren't you? I would have expected differently from my Number 4." Cynthia suddenly spoke up making them blink in surprise before suddenly, the lights snapped on, the familar room of the battlefield where Blaze and Cynthia did their little test appeared.

"Warning next time!" Charlie cried out as she rubbed her eyes.

Cynthia chuckled as she approached the four.

"Apologies. Anyway, I'm glad you all made your way here today. I've made you wait long enough. The objective today is simple. Pair up and it will be a 2v2. One Pokémon per person. This will help gauge the strength of your teammates as well as their weak points. Don't hold back. This is a test of strength so your strongest is recommended. Any questions?" Cynthia asked.

Nobody said anything so she nodded before simply walking farther from the field. She turned back and saw them chatting for a moment before she saw Phyllip and Blaze go to one side and Miranda and Charlie go to the other. Not the pairing she was expecting but it would work.

"Alright. So it's our strongest huh?" Blaze mumbled and he watched as Miranda grabbed the worn Pokeball from her necklace and expanded it.

Charlie grabbed a pokeball from her belt and expanded it, also worn out slightly though not as bad. He looked over at Phyllip who had a serious expression on his face now and grabbed a Pokeball that, while clean, looked much older than it appeared. Blaze himself reached into his shirt and pulled the pokeball from his own necklace, worn out as well and smiling a little.

"It's time to battle my old friend." He said before his eyes hardened.

"Charizard!" "Swampert!" "Espeon!" "Blaziken!" They all called out. "Come out!"

Charizard landed with a hard thud before letting out an ear piercing roar, its black scales rattling and blood red wings stretching out as his sharp red eyes take in his surroundings, one scar going vertical down his left eye, a red sash around his neck with a Mega stone safely clinging to it shining an orange and red color before seeing a Swampert materialize next to him. This wasn't a shiny Swampert but it did have a mega stone on its forehead.

Espeon was next to follow, a pink cat like Pokemon with black eyes and white iris' and a tail split at the end with a gem on its forehead. Lastly was Blaziken. Standing tall and proud as he yelled out and his wrists burst into flames, A mega stone on his arm.

Cynthia eyed all the Pokémon. These were their strongest. She could definitely feel it. The power radiating from them definitely dwarfed that of a regular trainer and she knew that she had picked well with these four. Fire, Water, Psychic, and Fighting. Her Elite 4 and their signature Pokémon.

This was certainly going to be a battle indeed.

Espeon looked back at Miranda confused for a second but one look and she nodded, turning back to the battle and her eyes immediately glowed blue, Lifting Swampert with ease and slamming him against Charizard making him growl and catch Swampert before he craned his neck and shot a hot torrent of flames at the cat like Pokémon who simply evaded gracefully.

"Blaziken, **Mach Punch** on Charizard!" Charlie called and Blaziken's fists glowed white with a blue outline, dashing forward in a red blur which surprised the two men.

"Swampert **Muddy Water**! Stop Blaziken in its tracks!" Phyllip quickly called out.

"Fly Charizard!" Blaze said.

Miranda simply stayed silent but nodded at Espeon who caught Charizard in mid flight, Charizard growling in surprise as he gets shoved back to the earth just as Swampert released Muddy Water and Blaze cursed as Charizard got hit with the muddy water as well as Blaziken. Espeon's eyes glowed blue once more as she caught the muddy water inches before it reached her and made it disperse.

Cynthia had to commend the little Pokémon. Smallest one there but it seemed to have the smartest trainer and its strength was nothing to laugh at. Blaze muttered something to Phyllip who nodded.

"Charizard **Seismic Toss** on Swampert!" Blaze yelled and Charizard immediately grabbed Swampert, lifting him and immediately flying up into the air only to throw him straight at Espeon and Blaziken.

"Swampert, use **Surf**!" Phyllip yelled and water immediately gathered in Swamperts mouth before he dropped it only for it to explode in a massive wave, crashing into Espeon and Blaziken, sending them sprawling back, their bodies soaked in water.

"Quick, **Thunder Punch**!" Blaze yelled and Charizard immediately shot forward, red eyes glaring at his opponent, hands glowing yellow before electricity immediately started to crackle around both of them as he flies right above Swampert, now just a few inches from Espeon who was his first target.

" **Psychic**! Stop him!" Miranda suddenly yelled and Charizard was frozen again, a blue outline around him but a Hydro Pump connected with Espeon, sending her soaring back and Charizard immediately changed course, crashing his thunder punch into Blaziken sending the dual fire and fighting back in pain and he collapsed to his knee for a second.

"Blaziken! Stand up and use **Sky Uppercut**!" Charlie yelled out, and Blaziken stood up, dashing at Charizard and he noticed a swift attack from Espeon colliding with Swampert.

While the attack didn't do much, it distracted Swampert.

" **Thunder Punch!** Don't let Blaziken hit you!" Blaze yelled at Charizard and Charizard roared, his hands covered in electricity once more as he gets into a fist fight with Blaziken, mostly staying on defense as he makes sure Blaziken can't him.

" **Hydro Pump** on Blaziken!" Phyllip yelled, Swampert immediately aiming a Hydro Pump at Blaziken but when he fired it, a blue glow covered it and it ended up hitting Charizard, making him crash to the ground and Blaziken instead hit Swampert before jumping back to Charlie.

 _Espeon is causing the boys trouble. It isn't moving but it's directing attacks and using Psychic in the perfect way and with Blaziken distracting the two, they didn't even see it coming._ Cynthia thought, a smile on her face as she watches.

"Swampert, kick up some dirt!" Phyllip yelled and Swampert, punched the ground, dirt surrounding the Lizard and Swampert.

Suddenly, a massive Fire Blast burst through the smoke and with no time to dodge, Espeon got hit dead center, sending her skidding all the way back to Miranda, struggling to get up only for a Hydro Pump to hit it again, sending Espeon soaring before landing next to Miranda. She still found her way back to her feet, panting but still ready for more.

The smoke cleared and Charizard was nowhere in sight. But neither was Blaziken.

"Blaziken!?" Charlie yelled only for Blaziken to yell as he slammed into the ground, Charizard on top of him before he immediately got thrown to the other wall, Espeon's eye glowing before they stopped.

Blaziken struggled to his feet, panting along with Espeon who was exerting too much energy. Charizard broke free from the wall, falling for a second only to glare and fly back to the field.

"Tell Swampert to get behind Charizard." Blaze muttered and Phyllip nodded.

"Swampert, behind Charizard now!" Swampert nodded and immediately got behind Charizard.

"If this misses. Use surf." Blaze told Phyllip. " **Blast Burn**!" he yelled and Charizard roared, taking off into the sky only to make a straight nose dive down, covered in flames and smashed his fist into the ground, the ground shaking and cracking before an orange light appeared under it, exploding up into Blaziken and Espeon, their cries being heard as the field gets covered in black smoke from the explosion.

It was silent for a moment before a portal suddenly opened above Charizard and Swampert, purple rocks suddenly hovering around Swampert and Charizard now as the two look at the rocks, Charizard exhausted from the Blast Burn.

"Shit!" Blaze yelled only to hear those words.

" **Future Sight**!" Miranda yelled and the purple rocks came down on the two Pokémon, making them wail in pain before they exploded, more dust picking up as it did.

She must have told Espeon to do it with her mind which is why they didn't notice it at first. Whenever the smoke cleared, Charizard was on one knee, panting heavily, the eye with the scar closed in pain as he gazed over and growled. Swampert was defeated and looking at the other team, Blaziken was down and out and Espeon was panting heavily on shaking legs before she fell forward, done with the match as well. Charizard sighed and sat back, exhausted.

Cynthia closed her eyes for a second and smiled. The outcome was expected although the team up was unexpected. She was expecting Blaze and Miranda to team up and Charlie and Phyllip to team up. Yet they didn't. She approached the field as her Elite all stood next to their Pokémon petting them for a battle well fought.

"That was some impressive fire power. Congratulations to Charizard for surviving for so long. and Espeon, the smallest one of the three with the weakest defense managed to outlast Swampert and Blaziken. Very well trained Miranda." She praised the two and they nodded. "Swampert had some serious power behind his attacks but he lacked Stamina and Defense so you will work on fixing that. As for Blaziken, he was the youngest of the four on the field. Speed is exemplary, has some great strength but his defense is lacking a little and he needs more experience." She said to the other two who took in her words. "You four are a team. I want you to listen to what I said and I want you to use this battle to help your fellow teammates improve." They all nod.

"I do have a question. The pairings. They were a bit unexpected. May I ask why?" She asked.

They looked at each other before Charlie spoke up.

"Well, Elite numbers are from strongest to weakest. We thought it would be unfair if the two strongest went against the two weakest so we balanced it out. Phyllip wanted Blaze's team because his water typing would help out Blaze's fire typing. We agreed and me and Miranda paired up because having her Espeon work so well with Psychic, it could turn the battle in our favor despite the other Pokémon being stronger." Charlie explained and Cynthia smiled.

"I see. Some excellent thinking. I hope you learned something from this battle. What I want from you four now is to get to know each other. Learn everything you can. Family, friends, hobbies, likes, dislikes. Whatever you can. Whenever you like. We are a team now. No secrets. Alright?" She asked and they nodded at this. "Okay. Go get your Pokémon healed up." She said and they returned the Pokémon, walking out through the double doors one by one.

It seems this was going to be a very interesting group of trainers indeed.

 **Kaboom! Yay. Another one done. So we meet the remaining three Elites and the partner Pokémon for each along with their typing specialty. I had quite a bit of fun writing this. Since this is my first Pokémon fanfic, there will be mistakes so don't expect every chapter to be great but I still do hope you liked this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well here is Chapter 3. I'm getting more and more into writing this story and I hope I don't disappoint with it. Practice makes perfect and I'm really hoping to only get better as time progresses. Anyway, not much to say at the moment so I'll just go ahead and start up.**

Chapter 3: To the Master League!

"No." Miranda said simply towards her 26 year old teammate as she sat down on a velvet chair, sipping on coffee as she eyed the projection in front of her displaying the news.

"Come on! I wouldn't be asking you this if it was not of the utmost importance, mademoiselle!" Phyllip yelled, on his knees with his hands clasped together in front of her.

"You've chased after the same girl for a year. Leave the Champion alone." Miranda said, her usual calm demeanor she's known for throughout her year as an Elite member slowly beginning to waver.

"She does not know a good man if he slapped her across the face!" He said with exaggerated tears in his eyes.

Miranda's eyes glowed red and a red outline surrounded Phyllip before he was lifted and he sqealed and yelled in fear.

"Shut...up." She said, officially annoyed.

"Mademoiselle, I'm sorry!" He yelled and her eyes narrowed before she heard Cynthia speak up.

"Let him down, Mira." She said and Miranda gazed back at Cynthia who was leaning against the door, her arms crossed with her eyes closed.

Miranda slowly let Phyllip down and he fixed his tuxedo before making a "hmph!" sound and walking away.

To summarize, it has been one year since Cynthia created this group with her at the helm in the region of Suma. In that one year, they took the Pokémon world by storm, their league immediately attracting battlers who were itching for a new challenge. Cynthia and her Elite quickly became known throughout all of Suna and people even began to speculate just how strong they were compared to the other regions. People didn't know the current strength of Cynthia or her Elite's. Just old videos of them but that wasn't much to go on.

Cynthia herself didn't know if this league would take off fast enough but since word quickly spread that she had set up here, everyone wanted to see the Sinnoh native again after so long, specifically four years since they saw her a lot. Needless to say, it quickly gained popularity. Especially with how amazing this region was. In the year that Cynthia was Champion, she quickly got the favor of the people of this region with all the improvements she's made. Barthstone used to be a fairly small town but thanks to her, it has grown to a medium sized city with beautiful grass and scenery much like the rest of the region.

With being champion, Cynthia didn't have time for much more but her Elite's did. Blaze took up art on his free time, several of his paintings being found in museum's throughout the regions or even in people's houses. Miranda was the most surprising of all, taking up modeling and fashion. Her quiet and serious exterior made this a surprise to everyone. Miranda sometimes collaborated with Blaze since she sometimes needed his artistic view and that led to Blaze also becoming a designer.

Again, not what was expected. Phyllip remained in his restaurant as expected but he ditched the clean hair look and tried to copy Blaze and his 'badass' look as Phyllip put it but it didn't work out too well so he went for a buzz cut almost but slightly longer. It worked better than the other idea. But on his free time, he spent training with Charlie since Miranda and Blaze mostly took to training with each other rather than them. On the small occasions that they did train with them, they were merciless and Phyllip learned the hard way why they were ranked above him.

It's not to say that they are stronger than him by a huge margin. Cynthia did keep her promise and trained all four of them but while it made the first two elites more deadly, the last two who already had the strength and intelligence slowly became the dominant ones of the 4 thanks to the training. So they used that skill and power when facing off against the weaker two and it was quite a massacre.

A few people have managed to battle against the Elite 4 but the farthest someone got was scraping a win against Charlie but barely and only knocking out one of Phyllip's. Thanks to this, the two finally began to rise the ranks. The ranking system was originally used to decide the Pokémon Master but after a year, Ash had managed to take that away so now the rankings are simply for who wants to be the best in terms of rank.

In terms of Pokémon Master, Ash had managed to use the Master League to decide that every four years. People didn't prefer this method at first but after careful explaining, they slowly began to see the reasoning and now most people are all for it.

"You're too soft on him." Miranda said as she goes back to reading the news.

"I think you're too hard on him." Cynthia mused before the ground shook a little bit and Cynthia raised an eyebrow.

"That would be Blaze and Charlie." Miranda said simply.

"I figured." Cynthia said.

 **With Blaze and Charlie.**

"Return, Machamp!" Charlie said with a frown as her fainted Pokémon was absorbed into a red light before returning to its pokeball.

A green Espeon was pacing left and right in front of Blaze, watching her opponent carefully to see who she would send out next.

"You're all I've got left, Blaziken!" Charlie said and sent out Blaziken who yelled out its name and the fire on its wrists turned on.

Espeon stared at the Blaziken and got ready.

" **Flamethrower**!" Charlie yelled and Blaziken opened his mouth, fire gathering in his throat before he released a torrent of flames only for Espeon to dash to the side before releasing a psywave which hit Blaziken in the chest making him skid back a little.

Not the strongest Psychic move but it did the job. Cynthia walked into the room and noticed the current battle, Charlie looking like she was on her last legs while Blaze still seemed fairly calm.

" **Future Sight** followed up with **Quick Attack**!" Blaze said quickly, Espeon's eyes glowing blue for a second before they disappeared only for her to glow white before she dashed forward, a trail of white following after her as she went towards Blaziken.

" **Blaze kick**!" Charlie yelled and fire erupted on Blaziken's foot before he spun around, clashing with the Quick Attack before immediately pushing through and sending the Espeon tumbling back to Blaze.

" **Swift**!" He said and Espeon complied, jumping into the air and doing a backflip, stars coming from her tail as she did so.

" **Flamethrower**! Blow them out!" Charlie said and Blaziken yelled before releasing a flamethrower attack, burning through the swift and heading towards Espeon.

" **Protect**." Blaze simply said and Espeon stood her ground, a green sphere surrounding her as the flamethrower clashed with the sphere and immediately dispersed into different directions.

A portal opened above Blaziken and rocks immediately crashed down on him, making him yell in pain from the sudden attack.

" **Giga Impact**!" Blaze yelled and Espeon let the green protect die down before dashing forward, her eyes narrowed as she sprints towards her opponent, the purple sphere surrounding her along with yellow streaks on it.

"Quick, use **Overheat**!" Charlie yelled in panick and Blaziken immediately started to glow red for a second before letting out a massive overheat, the overheat charging right at Espeon who simply sprinted right into it.

A moment later, Espeon burst through the overheat, slightly charred but overall fine as she narrowed her eyes once more and jumped forward, clashing with Blaziken's chest which made him yell in pain, getting thrown back and kicking up a huge dust cloud. A few seconds later, Espeon burst through the smoke, skidding to a stop in front of Blaze, panting a little as she eyed the dust carefully.

The dust eventually cleared to reveal Blaziken on the floor with swirls in his eyes and Espeon simply sits back, starting to lick at her paws.

"Thanks, Blaziken." Charlie said as she approaches Blaziken before kneeling down and returning him.

 _'Perhaps if you would have used Blaziken more effectively, you would have stood a chance. But what to expect from number 1?'_ Espeon said through Charlie and Blaze's mind.

"Hey. Zip it." Blaze said and Espeon looked back at Blaze before nodding and Blaze returned her into her pokeball.

He approached Charlie and puts his hands in his pockets.

"You didn't do bad, kid. Espeon is just like that. Just keep practicing and you'll improve. You're young with plenty of time left in front of you." He said and smiled before walking past Cynthia and out the door after a small greeting.

Cynthia approaches Charlie as she stands up and frowns.

"You alright?" Cynthia asked and Charlie looked at her Pokeball.

"We've all trained together throughout the year. I don't understand why it is I'm still so far behind. I see Blaze and Miranda training together and their battles are always neck and neck. Even Phyllip is doing better. Was Espeon right? Am I just ineffectively using Blaziken?" Charlie asked with a frown.

Cynthia sighed and placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Your methods aren't ineffective. You want to know why? Because they are your methods. Your Pokémon, your methods. You've trained your Pokémon using this same method since you started training. You want to know where it got you? The Elite 4. I chose you for a reason. You're going to see for yourself, why." Cynthia said and smiled as she started walking away. "Heal up and meet up at the meeting room."

With that, Cynthia walked away and Charlie quickly went to heal up.

 **Meeting Room (15 Minutes later)**

The meeting room was fairly simple. It was a square room with a large table in the center which was above a rectangular velvet carpet but there was beautiful wooden floor around the carpet which basically said that the carpet was placed on top. On the table was a few plants in vases and on the ceiling was a chandelier to light up the room which had book shelves lining the walls. Three of the Four Elites were sitting down on the table and the Champion was also missing.

"Fun. She tells us to meet up and she's the one who's missing. Along with Charlie." Blaze said and Miranda shrugs.

"Perhaps they're just walking together." She said.

"I agree. Mademoiselle Shirona is very kind and would probably seek to comfort our youngest Elite after Blaze so monstrously destroyed her team with that green beast." He said, glaring at Blaze and a Pokeball opened, Espeon appearing on the table.

 _'Perhaps it is you who seems_ _to dislike me for doing the same to your team. I will remind you of what I said to you. Learn to fight and maybe it won't happen in the future. Stop pinning the blame on someone who is just stronger._ _Take your defeats like a man and stop feeling dejected.'_ Espeon said with her eyes narrowed and glowing blue.

"Espeon. This is a team. Not your personal impudence group. Stand down." Blaze snapped and Espeon flicked her tail before hopping off the table and curling up on Blaze's lap.

"I quite like her." Miranda said simply and Espeon mewed in response which made her have the smallest hint of a smile.

"That is because you are the only one here that beast has yet to decimate." Phyllip said and Miranda shrugged.

"She beat my Alakazam but then my own Espeon took her down. I don't think she will decimate me but I acknowledge her strength."

"Always the voice of reason." Blaze said but Miranda stayed silent after that.

They heard the doors open and they turned to face them, Cynthia and Charlie walking in as they take their respected seats with Cynthia sitting next to Charlie, across from Blaze and Charlie sitting across from Miranda while Phyllip was sat at the end of the table.

"Thank you for waiting and apologies. I am here now and we can begin." Cynthia said and they all turned to face her.

"Yea. 20 minutes later." Blaze said which earned him a glare from Phyllip.

"She most likely has her reasons for being here la-"

"You really don't stop talking. Do you?" Miranda asked and Phyllip was about to say something but Cynthia interjected.

"You guys can bicker when we're done here. I called you here for a reason. That reason is the Master League. Invitations are out and we need to fill ours out. We will do so if you wish to participate." She said and since there was silence, she continued. "We will all fill one out and send our fastest flyer to deliver it." She finished as she slid the booklet for the Master League over to her Elite's and they grabbed it before opening it to find the information page.

"So we just fill this out?" Charlie asked and Cynthia nodded.

She watched as they all started to fill it out and she could kind of get a feel for what they were thinking. There was a mix of excitement and worry in the eyes she saw and it was to be expected.

Blaze was no doubt excited. He was the most dominant of her Elite and he had a fire in him that was transferred over to his Pokémon on the field that made him suitable to be the 4th elite. He was her fire specialist but recently, he's trained his non fire types more than not with the league coming up. He was ready for this. She knew it.

Miranda was quick to follow. She followed Blaze despite their original meeting and Cynthia would argue that they get along better with each other than the others. They train the most together and Miranda is just about on par with Blaze. She could have very easily been the 4th Elite but she lacked the drive to lead which is why Blaze was. She was a simple person so she was probably just filling it out without much care in the world.

Next was Phyllip and this was where she noticed the power drop. He was not nearly at the level the other two were despite the training she did with him. He's gotten much stronger than when he first arrived but so did Miranda and Blaze so the power there was just too separated. He was also a little weird but there was no denying his strength. His thought process was probbaly in the middle of her other two. Excited but he probably isnt as excited.

Finally, there was little Charlie. The youngest at 19 years old. She's had it quite rough due to being the one with the least amount of training and experience. She mostly trained fighting types for her Elite position but she trains many more than just that for this league. Her spirits were much lower than the other three due to being beaten constantly by her superiors so her face had a lot of doubt in it but she still marched on.

Her Elite, while some struggled, they all had their dominant sides of some things. They finished one by one and Cynthia grabbed them back before looking at them.

"Alright. Fastest flying Pokémon." Cynthia said and they all stood up and walked outside in front of the Mansion they call home.

Miranda stepped in front of the group and tossed a pokeball into the air, revealing a Dragonite or as Blaze and Miranda see it, Charizard's biggest rival next to her Espeon. He came out and yelled happily and Miranda handed the dragon the booklets inside of a bag which he strapped around him.

"Get these to the Pokémon League Headquarters my friend." She said softly and pet his nose gently and he nods before flying up. "And be fast." She said.

He nods and takes off like a jet, quickly disappearing from her sight. He would be back quickly. Perhaps an hour or so. For now, they decide to head back inside and continue on with their day.

 **Two Hours Later.**

Dragonite took a bit longer than expected but he came back fairly quick overall. It had taken Cynthia a day to get there with Garchomp so this was definitely a fast Pokémon. When it returned, it had a parcel for them. Cynthia took it and placed it on the table and Phyllip looked at it curiously.

"Soo... what's in it?" He asked and Cynthia grabbed a knife, cutting it open and opening it up before pulling out a magazine wrapped up in plastic.

It wasn't just any magazine. It was the magazine of the Master League. It had the entire map of the league as well as locations for concessions. Turning the pages, it was explaining the rules and it went more in depth with the concessions before Cynthia stopped at an image of a tower. It was the Tower which housed the Champions and Elite members.

She didn't remember this tower from four years ago so perhaps it was simply a new structure.

"I don't recall this tower." She said and Phyllip leaned over to see it before tilting his head.

"I honestly can't say I've seen it either." He replied while scratching his stubble.

She dug through the box and pulled out a thick card along with a note attached to it. She opened the note before reading out loud.

"New tower was just recently built. The rooms are large enough to fit the champion with his or her elites. Pictures of the tower are in the magazine as well as the interior. This card is used to open the door to your room. Don't lose it. Charles." She said and looked at the card before gently placing it next to the magazine before finding a hard cover book that seemed to be brand new, literally hot off the press and four more copies just like the one in her hand.

On the book was another note so she picked it up and read it out loud.

"This book will be used to keep track of the tournament going on. The names of all the competitors are listed on here and the preliminary rounds have already been decided and printed on the tournament bracket. Everyone will get one of these. Scott." She said before placing the note down and opening the book and just like it said, it was the tournament book.

She flipped through the cover page and copyright page before she found the list of names in Alphabetical order. She noticed at the top of the list was a large bold letter A so she flipped through a few more pages before finding B. She skimmed down the names until she found Blaze's and then flipped until she reached the C's. There she found Charlie first and much farther down the list, near the end, she found herself. She started to skip through the names until she reached the letter M and around the middle, she finally found Miranda.

Satisfied, she kept going until she reached the P's section where she found Phyllip almost near the middle of the section. The list of names went on for a while but she eventually found the bracket and went to flip the page when she stopped and tilted her head. She pulled the paper, the paper starting to unfold to reveal a bracket that was literally a poster. Probably for people to be able to hang in their room and fill out. She read through the preliminary names, not surprised when she didn't find herself or any champions or elites. They didn't partake in the preliminary rounds since it wouldn't be fair due to the level of strength they already have. Yes, some of the best trainers in the world would participate but they were probably still below Champion level or almost there just can't quite get there.

So she wasn't surprised. She placed the book down and took out the other books and noticed an envelope. She reached in and pulled it, noticing the familiar Pokemon League emblem on it and she rips it open before pulling out the paper.

"And what is that?" Phyllip asked.

Cynthia skimmed over the words before smiling.

"It's the dates for the events such as preliminary matches, dinners, gatherings. The like." She said.

"Oh. When is the closest one?" He asked and watched as Cynthia checked again.

"Hmmm... the ceremony is in five days because people need to arrive and get settled in. Which is why they give out this stuff early. So we have time to prepare." She said as she folds up the paper and noticed other envelopes.

Probably so her elites also know when things are. She nods and organizes everything and just in time too since she heard the doors opening and looked up to see Miranda and Charlie walking in.

"Dragonite is resting. I just figured I'd check in before heading off." Miranda said and looked over at Charlie. "Me and her just walked in at the same time."

"Yea." Charlie said.

"Good timing actually. That parcel gave us important information you'll need for the league so I've organized them so just come pick up one group of items." Cynthia said, standing up and pointing to the group of items she had set up.

The girls approached before Cynthia looked around.

"Anyone seen Blaze?" She asked.

They just shrugged and Cynthia nodded, scratching her head.

"That's fine. He'll come down and see it. He's a curious one." Cynthia said and the girls nodded before carrying their books and paper to their respective rooms.

"Quite an irresponsible 4th member." Phyllip said and Cynthia looked at him confused.

"Phyllip, I have to ask, what exactly is it that you have against him? You and him have hardly gotten along."

Phyllip looked at her and frowned.

"Perhaps you do not see it. Miranda does not either. Charlie seems to see it but chooses to ignore it. It angers me. He walks around this place, treating us as inferiors. His Espeon is completely disrespectful and he doesn't even hide the fact he's proud of his strength. Too proud." Phyllip said, clenching his fist a little. "He needs to be brought down a peg or two."

Cynthia listened before sighing a little. She knew Blaze was a hot head and considered himself the strongest among the four Elite's and his attitude was definitely proud but there was nothing wrong with being proud of ones strength. As long as he doesn't intentionally attempt to break down Phyllip or Charlie, there shouldn't be a problem. Still, she should talk to him at least. He was the leader and he needed to set an example. Miranda rolled with the tide and if she saw someone she sees as an equal in terms of strength flaunt his strength, while Cynthia doubts Miranda would do it, perhaps she would take on a more queen attitude.

It was a scary thought so talking to Blaze would be the smart approach. Perhaps Espeon as well.

"I'll talk to them. He shouldn't be doing that. I chose carefully. I know about all four of you." She said.

"Thank you. Perhaps me and him will learn to get along in the future." He said and she nods.

"Perhaps." She said.

 **Later Tonight.**

Night had approached fairly quickly and the Mansion was silent except for Cynthia who was rubbing her temples a little. The problem between Phyllip and Blaze was hardly something to bring up to her since it was something that should be resolved between them but she was thinking about this from a different perspective. If he got Miranda involved in this somehow or another, the team would actually be in trouble. You can't have two fourths of a team having a superiority complex. The others would just be put off.

She heard the door opening and she looked up, noticing Blaze walk in. He blinked in surprise in seeing Cynthia and walked over before sitting down next to her and grabbing the books and papers that the others had gotten. Cynthia sighed before leaning forward.

"We need to talk." She said.

"Whoa. Is this about how we spend our nights? I swear I can last longer." He said and Cynthia looked at him like he was crazy.

"No. Not how we spend our nights." She said then flushed red when she noticed his expression.

"So you admit we spend our nights together." He said with a wink before laughing and Cynthia couldn't help but smile regardless.

"I walked into that one. Listen, Phyllip is feeling attacked... by you." She said and his amused expression slowly turned confused.

"I don't attack lover boy. That's Miranda's bit." He said

"Miranda's?"

"Yea. Sometimes he won't shut up about you so she uses her psychic to scare him into shutting up but that's it." He said.

"I don't mean physical attack. I mean verbal."

"I'm not bullying him." Blaze raised an eyebrow again.

"He said you treat them as if they were inferiors." She said and judging from his confused expression, he still had no idea what she was talking about.

"I don't make them pick up after me or anything. I treat them the way I treat them cause our personalities crash. He's infatuated with you. Charlie is young and loud. They both are always talking. That's why Miranda and I are usually hanging out together. We just appreciate the more calm atmosphere. But that's it. Phyllip is a drama queen. But I won't take advantage of my superiority." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you say the same for your Espeon?" She asked and Blaze scratched his head.

"She's... difficult. A work in progress. But she is my second strongest... well, I'd argue even almost tied with Charizard but, with that strength, I guess she just feels that everyone else needs to be up to par or she feels disappointed. But I'm handling it. You chose me for a reason. Let me do my job." He said and she sighed.

"I don't doubt your abilities to lead. I know who I chose. Keep your Pokémon in line. And keep yourself in line. Okay? We're both busy." She said and he nodded.

"Alright. I got this. Don't worry." He said and stood up which made her nod as she watched him leave and she leans back and rubs her forehead.

 **Four Days Later**

"Everyone ready?" Cynthia asked and turned to face her Elite.

They packed up what they would need since this tournament would be several weeks long but still, most of them only had a backpack or a suitcase with a smaller bag as well for essentials that are smaller. Overall, they were ready and Cynthia nodded as she pulled out Garchomps pokeball, her elite mimicking her action and one by one, flying Pokémon appear with their respective cries.

Garchomp, Charizard, Dragonite, and Pidgeot. Charlie didn't have a big enough flying Pokémon so she got on Dragonite with Miranda. With a powerful push, Garchomp was off, Charizard roaring before flapping his powerful wings and taking off, Dragonite and Pidgeot right on the fire lizards tail. It kind of like follow the leader.

Dragonite narrowed his eyes as he saw Charizard ahead of him and flapped harder, slowly overtaking Charizard who growled up at Dragonite and flapped his wings harder, passing Dragonite back up. Pidgeot simply flew faster to keep up with the group as they all followed Cynthia to the Pokémon Master League which was being held in Indigo Plateau. The regional tournament's were fancy but this... this was beyond fancy.

Dragonite dashed faster, flying past Charizard like a bullet only for Charizard's red eyes to burn with a challenge, taking off in a black blur, passing up Dragonite again and even Garchomp but Cynthia just sweat dropped as she watched the two Pokémon speeding through the air towards the Plateau.

After around six hours of straight flying, Cynthia noticed the Plateau and whistled at the rest of her group before pointing down at it and all the Pokémon immediately spin into a nose dive towards the league, Charlie screaming and clinging to Miranda for dear life who looked like she was about to run out of air from the younger girl squeezing her so much throughout the trip.

Garchomp immediately pulled up and suddenly stopped before landing, allowing Cynthia to climb off of her and Cynthia pet her and smiled.

"Take a good rest." She said and returned Garchomp.

She watched as Charizard and Dragonite flew straight past her in a blur, kicking up wind like crazy before the two stopped and landed gently, the two beginning to argue over who won while Pidgeot simply landed gracefully and ruffled her feathers a little as Phyllip climbed off of her, petting her before returning her.

The two others bickered a little more until they were returned to continue the argument in their own time. They found themselves in the front of Indigo Plateau. In front of them was a Pokémon center without a door or wall so you could see inside without having to open it but there were still walls on the side and back and a roof and the like. People were simply chatting in front of the Pokémon center or just around.

Cynthia looked around before leading her Elite past the Pokémon center to a small path, the floor under them made of a very light gray cement, almost white in color as they walked a little until they reached the square. First thing to notice was the concession stands throughout the square and other areas of the plateau.

To her left, there were hotels for the trainers and across from the hotels, there were houses more fancy for the researchers and other large public figures. It was a simple setup but it worked. To her right down the path, she could make out the tower which probably had more stores and concessions. As usual, the league went all out.

She led them to the tower which was about a few minutes by walking. The tower itself is basically glass. a bunch of windows with an observation deck at the top. As they arrived, the doors slid open by themselves and they walk through to a gorgeous sight. In front of them was a reception desk which was white as well as the carpeting in the first room.

There were two stairs with golden railings both leading to the middle which had two golden elevators. A bright chandelier was dangling safely from the white roof. The group was going to approach but Cynthia stopped in her tracks which made them stop and look at her confused but they didn't see what she saw. In front of them was a young man, probably 18 or 19 years old, messy black raven hair. He also had on a black cap, black vest with a black undershirt and dark grey trousers with black shoes and black fingerless gloves with a red accent.

There was a pikachu perched on his shoulder as it has grown so accustomed to and Cynthia immediately searched for the nearest way to avoid him but the only way was out and her Elite were blocking way.

"Cynthia?" Charlie asked but apparently, it was a bit too loud cause Ash turned around before smiling his signature bright smile.

It was revealed that his hat had a red half pokeball as well as his entire outfit having red accents.

"Hey! Cynthia!" He said and Pikachu greeted happily.

"Ash. Hey." She said a little more quiet than she would have liked.

Her elite took that as their cue to leave and they simply waved as they went upstairs. Those traitors.

"Haven't seen or heard from you in a long time." He said and she nodded.

"Yea. After losing, I just needed a break." She said and looked down a little.

"I guess I understand." He said and she nods, mentally cursing herself for not having anything to say.

She did notice that he was taller now, had a deeper voice, and seemed to speak with a more level tone instead of his usual hyper but, he still has those goofy moments that made her smile when she had first met him.

"I heard you have a new league. Heard it's really tough. Congrats." He said and smiled which made her frown a little. "Or not?"

"No. It's not that. Thank you. It's just... I guess I'm not used to seeing people grow up." She said and looked at him.

"Well everyone grows up eventually. Right buddy?" He asked Pikachu and scratched his chin which made him let out a satisfied "cha."

"Well you and Pikachu still seem as thick as thieves." She said and smiled.

"Of course. He's gotten loads stronger and we've only bonded more." He said with a smile.

"Well I wanted to say congratulations. I'm not quite sure when it happened but Pokémon Master. A dream come true." She said and he nodded with a smile.

"Yea. Everyone is proud. They are all here if you want to see them." He said and she quickly shook her head.

"No. Thank you though. I have to get going." She said quickly and walked past him. "Nice seeing you!" She called out as she reached the elevator and it opened.

She stepped through and sighed as she watched it close. That was awkward for her. Sure the meeting was light and simple but, there is something about it that just didn't sit right. It was the fact that it has been so long and he was still treating her like they saw each other yesterday. He was too nice for his own good but he also had this thing that just made other people want to smile.

She reached her floor and it opened, revealing a similar white hallway with golden doors and she walked to her door and knocked, waiting for one of her Elites to open it. Eventually, Charlie opened the door and let her through before closing it and bounding off to whatever she had been doing previously.

The room itself was huge. More like an apartment but with more rooms. There were five here. One for each person and as opposed to the white outside, here, it was dark colors. velvet carpets and red chairs and couches. The kitchen wasn't very dark with the marble tiles and wooden cabinets. It also had a black fridge and matching microwave. It even had a flat screen above a fire place. There were two steps to her left which elevated the floor for three rooms. To her right, two more rooms. It was a fairly simple yet very fancy set up.

She looked around and noticed that on one of the doors, the word champion was on it so she walked over before opening the door. It was a similar color to the living room but instead of chairs, it was a bed and night stand which was wooden along with a door that led to the bathroom. Very simple yet elegant set up. She assumed the others have a similar set up. She looked out the window of her room and noticed it was dark.

Tomorrow would begin the tournament that would help lead her back to the top. Ash has earned his spot fair and square. Now, she was going to do the same.

 **Honestly wasn't sure how to make the meeting between Ash and Cynthia so it's probably lacking. Anyway, not much else to say.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Master League and Miranda's Fear

The day has arrived. The Master League will officially commence today and everyone is getting ready. Getting dressed, touching up, maybe simply just relaxing and waiting for the announcement. For Cynthia, she was getting ready, getting dressed in her typical outfit and her Elite, Miranda was getting Blaze's opinion on an outfit, Phyllip was already dressed seeing as how he always usually wore a Tuxedo or a suit with his mega ring or something, and Charlie was in her room, probably getting dressed or something but Cynthia wasn't quite sure.

"Maybe I should go with the blue string." Cynthia heard Miranda say and she couldn't help but chuckle a little.

She always was a quiet person and she normally kept to herself but ever since she joined the Elite, she's been more open with those she's close to. Put her in front of someone she doesn't know, she'll revert to her quiet exterior.

"Red matches your eyes more." Blaze said.

"Yes but my hair already compliments that. Blue would compliment the outfit." Miranda replied.

"I agree. Blue would work with the outfit Mademoiselle Ruby has chosen." Phyllip chimed in.

"See? Even Phyllip knows more than you." She said and Blaze chuckled and shook his head.

"Fine. Go with blue. It's just an outfit." He said and Miranda and Phyllip both gasp.

"Oh non."

"He didn't."

"I think he did." Phyllip said.

Blaze raised an eyebrow confused but before anyone could say anything else, Cynthia walked into the living room and looked at them.

"We all ready?" She asked and Charlie bounded out of the room.

Her hair was a different color. She had dyed it blond and had put it in pig tails that reached her shoulders, wearing a red vest with a black under shirt along with blue jeans and sneakers. For accessories, she had put on her earrings, one of them containing her mega stone.

Miranda was wearing a white button up shirt with a collar and no sleeves, the buttons ending right below her chest but she also had on a black sleeveless blouse with a blue ribbon tied on the blouse under the button up to cover what the shirt couldn't plus she just liked the way it looked. She also had on black jeans and heels that were shorter than the average but they still put her at Blaze's height of 5'9. For accessories, she only had a bracelet and a necklace of the usual worn out poke ball she always has containing her strongest.

Blaze himself was wearing a dress jacket that was opened up to reveal a black shirt and black jeans with his combat boots, his hair still in the usual style that Phyllip said was 'the badass' look. Blaze just found that it suited him since without it, his hair would almost be in his face. For accessories, he had on the PokEx just like the other three and a necklace with a worn pokeball as well but it also had a mega stone dangling next to the Pokeball.

Overall, the only one who didn't dress like she was going to some super special occasion was Charlie but she didn't like getting super dressed up so it was understandable. Cynthia noted that they all seemed ready but she still had to ask but when she noticed that they all nodded, she nods and leads them out of the room.

 **Official Stadium**

 **"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Welcome to the Master League!"** A booming voice echoed throughout the stadium which made people erupt in a massive array of cheers.

The stadium was what you would expect but larger but even still, it was filled up to the brim to the point that they couldn't let anyone else in or it would be too populated. Currently, there were two platforms. On the main floor, the trainers who were competing were all there organized so they could all be seen. The first platform held the Elites of each region, all spaced out in groups so everyone knew which Elite group belonged to which Champion. Finally, the 2nd platform which was the tallest held the Champions as well as Charles Goodshow, Scott, and a spot for the current Pokémon Master.

Charles stepped forward and began to speak once again.

 **"Originally, this tournament was held every year for the best of the best to come together and test out their power and where they stand. Now, with the new Pokémon Master's rule, it has been changed to every four years. This tournament will also decide who the new Pokémon Master is. If you are able to defeat the current one that is."** Charles said through the microphone and everyone listened carefully.

Cynthia felt good to be standing up there once more after having declined the last few offers to join this tournament once again. She was training and didn't want everyone to see the extent of her power just yet. But now she felt ready.

 **"I will leave explaining the tournament to your very own, Ash Ketchum, Pokémon Master!"** He yelled out which received thundered cheers throughout the stadium.

Ash stepped up to the platform, noticing Cynthia and waving who waved back a little, seeing the usual cheerful demeanor on his face which was mirrored by his most trusted partner on his shoulder. He stepped forward to the mic, his face suddenly turning serious as he addressed the crowd now.

 **"I stand before you today as Pokémon Master to welcome you all officially once again to the Master League."** He said which received thundered applause and cheering again.

Once it died down, he started again.

 **"We have a lot of talent here today and I am looking forward to witnessing the many battles that everyone here will bring to the table. Do not hold back. Your opponent most certainly won't. Also, remember to have fun. This is going to be a really good year and I want everyone to enjoy themselves. Let's make this tournament something to remember. Now, get out there and kick some tail! Pika!"** Ash yelled and Pikachu shouted as well, both pumping their fists into the air which made everyone start to cheer loudly again.

Cynthia couldn't help but smile. He still had the same energy when he wanted it and it felt good to see that some things don't always change. Scott walked forward and the crowd went silent again as they watched him.

 **"And now, our very own Pokémon Master will light Ho-Oh's torch and begin the Master League."** Scott said and everyone watched as Ash walked up to the bowl that would contain the fire before lighting it up and the fire roared to life, everyone cheering loudly as the tournament has now officially started.

Everyone was chatting excitedly amongst themselves and Cynthia noticed Ash approaching, a huge grin on his face.

"How did that feel?" Cynthia asked with a chuckle and placed a hand on her hip.

"Really good. I accomplished my dream and got to light the torch for the greatest tournament ever. Life is amazing." He said with a wide grin and Pikachu agreed.

"I do have to apologize for the last conversation we had. It had been a long time and I wasn't very sure how to react. But I do now. It's great to see you again, Ash." She said and smiled brightly which made him blush slightly.

"Hehe. It's great to see you too. Good luck and don't tell this to anyone, but I'm rooting for you to make it all the way." He said with a challenging grin.

"Pika!" Pikachu said with sparks coming from his cheeks.

"You'll get your challenge. Don't worry." She said with a smile, resisting the blush that was creeping up.

She was used to being flattered but it just felt good coming from someone who was always so genuine about everything.

"I'm counting on it. Good luck, Cynthia. I'll see you around." He said and shook her hand, Pikachu waving as they slowly turn and walk away.

She nods and watched him leave before looking down at the group of trainers who were all chatting away. Guess she was going to have to beat everyone here. And that meant them as well. Her eyes find her Elite members and she nods to herself. Yes. She would have to defeat them in order to advance. The two threats would no doubt be the top two. But even Phyllip and Charlie can find the edge to win. Raw power isn't everything.

Yes, this would be difficult. Everyone here had talent. But she didn't prepare for so long only to go down now. They would all go down. That's something she was certain of. However, with the lighting now over, normally came the party after for trainers to get to know each other. All the contestants were invited. Which meant she should probably go cause her Elite would no doubt want to go. Even if it just to take in everything this place has to offer.

 **At The Party**

The location was inside a massive dining hall with plenty of space to eat or just talk. Chandeliers lined the long roof of the dining hall and there was even a stage at the end of the room which would be where Ash would probably say a few words to the competitors or something. Tables were all over the room which allowed people to just sit down and eat.

Cynthia took note of what her four were doing. Charlie was being very social, talking with anyone who approached her or seemed approachable but that's to be expected. Phyllip was talking with the chefs who were preparing the food, giving them advice along with a few other people who probably knew as much about food. Miranda was sitting down at a table by herself, guys basically swarming her in every side which was bothering her to no end but she didn't show it. She didn't even talk back. Just closed her eyes and tried to avoid them. They probably recognized her due to her background as a model. Probably from a magazine or something.

Blaze was sitting by himself as well but he didn't have anybody swarming him. Just the occasional trainer introducing themselves so they know someone new. Herself? She was sitting down as well, just doing what Blaze was doing. At least until she heard someone call her name.

"Cynthia!" She turned to the source of the scream and noticed a bluenette approaching her.

Dawn. This was one of Ash's friends. She was with a fairly large group, recognizing some such as Brock and Iris. Cilan was over with Phyllip, talking about the food.

"Hello, Dawn." Cynthia replied back and smiled as they approached.

"You're participating?" She asked which received a nod.

"That I am. It's been a while so I figured I'd give it a go." Cynthia said.

"Ummmm Dawn? Mind filling us in on who she is?" A brunette asked, wearing a green bandana.

"Oh! Sorry, May. This is Cynthia. She used to be Champion of Sinnoh and Pokémon Master before Lance." Dawn explained and Cynthia nodded, pushing back the negative feelings of being reminded of that.

"Ohhhh. It's nice to meet you." May said.

"And this is, May, Max, and Misty. You already know Brock and Iris." Dawn said and pointed to each person who each waved when their name was called.

"A champion huh? You must be pretty strong then." The youngest, Max said and grinned at her.

"Well strength is only half the battle. To be a champion, you need more than just strength." Cynthia replied.

"You need to be smart, have good strategies, be able to stay calm under pressure, and you need to be able to assess a situation quickly." Brock listed out, thinking of what else to add.

"You're absolutely right, Brock." Cynthia said with a smile. "Both on and off the field."

"I'm going to be the best Pokémon trainer around one day. Just like Ash." Max said and Cynthia smiled.

"Well keep practicing. You'll get there one day. You're still young and to already be in a tournament of this caliber at that age, you are definitely on your way." She said with made Max grin and scratch the back of his head.

Brock looked around before noticing Miranda being surrounded by guys everywhere and he immediately dashed towards her, pushing past all the guys before kneeling in front of her and taking her hand, his slants (eyes?) glistening as he gazes at her, her eyebrow raising and twitching in annoyance.

"You truly have no equal when it comes to beauty. Join me and we can- gah!" He yelled as a Toxicroak jammed his fingers into his side, Max and Misty both yanking him by his fingers away from her which made all the guys look at him confused.

That gave her a little breathing room though.

"Well... that just happened... again." Someone said and everyone smiled.

"Ash! Hey!" Dawn yelled and Cynthia turned around, Pikachu jumping off his shoulder and landing on the table in front of her before waving.

"Hi Pikachu! Ash." Cynthia said, greeting the two and pets Pikachu which made him let out a 'cha.'

"Cynthia. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me." Ash said with a grin and Cynthia rolled her eyes.

"I was about to say the same to you, Ash." She replied with a smile.

"I see you've met my friends." He said with a smile and she nods.

"Yep!" Dawn chimed in.

"So, Max. Some pretty tough competition. Champions, Elites, gym leaders going all out. Frontier Brains. You think you're ready?" Ash asked with a grin.

He likes making the younger boy angry and fired up.

"What? You think I'm not!?" He asked loudly and Ash smirked.

"Well, I mean, you are talking to someone in the tournament. Cynthia is absolutely no push over. From what I've heard, her Elite are ridiculously strong too. They might be here right now. You might want to go gauge the competition." He said with a smile.

Max thought this over before looking over at Cynthia.

"Do you mind pointing them out for me?" He asked her.

"Not at all. There's Blaze. I recommend starting with him. He's the most relaxed usually. The poor girl who can't breathe is Miranda. I recommend avoiding that area till those guys clear out. Phyllip is over by the food. Kinda a drama queen. Finally, we have little Charlie. She's the most energetic." She said, pointing to all her Elites and Max followed her pointing before nodding.

"Alright! Operation: socialize begin!" He said and walked over to where Blaze was sitting.

"Operation... Socialize?" Cynthia asked and May sweatdropped.

"Max is... well he's Max. Anyway, Misty and Brock are also competing." May said with a smile and Cynthia nods.

"I would assume so. Ex Gym Leader and one of the strongest water trainers around. I'm very curious to see how you two fair against this league." She said.

"Well, we're mostly in it to have fun. But we'll still go all out." Misty said.

"I would expect nothing less." Cynthia replied and a mic squealing got their attention.

Max stopped talking with Blaze and they both turn to face the stage. Miranda finally had breathing room as she was hitting her limit but was annoyed when the guys just decided to sit down around her and look at the stage. She got up, clearly annoyed and Cynthia watched as she walked over to where Blaze was and sat next to him.

That's to be expected. He's the quieter one. She greeted Max quietly before sighing as she faces the stage now. Scott clears his throat before talking into the mic.

 **"I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and the food. Our Pokémon Master would like to say a little before you resume your conversations."** Scott said and everyone clapped as they watched Ash approach the stage and climb up.

"Hey guys. Like Scott said, I do hope you are enjoying yourselves. I'm not going to use the mic cause I'm sure my voice can carry but a quick show of hands, who can hear me?" He asked and watched as the majority of the hands went up.

"Alright, for those who can hear me, I want to ask that you tell those who can't to move up to listen to me." He said.

Talking began among the crowd and slowly, everyone that couldn't hear moved forward until they were within hearing distance.

"Good?" He asked and raised his hand which was mimicked by everyone this time.

"Cool. Anyway, I just want to let you know that the preliminary rounds begin tomorrow. Elites and Champions will not participate in the preliminary or the first two rounds. This will give those with less experience a chance to come up with a strategy against a superior opponent. Then, a little bit half way, we will assign you to teams of two and you will do double battles. Once most of the contestants are out, this will revert the tournament to one on ones. Win the finals, you may battle me for the title. Sound good?" He asked.

The contestants watching cheered and he smiled.

"Excellent! Have fun! Also, please refrain from surrounding people. I saw several of you attempting to converse with one person who was clearly annoyed with the lack of room. To this, I say something. They are human just like you and deserve the space and respect. So please give it to them. It doesn't matter if they are the most popular super model on the planet or, the most popular trainer around. Give them the space and respect. Now, with that, have fun." He said with a smile and walked off the stage back towards Cynthia and everyone started to talk.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that more if you would have done it before she was smothered." Cynthia said with a chuckle. "But thank you for that."

"Yea well, I know a few things about being surrounded by adoring fans." He said and waved at Miranda who simply nodded in thanks before returning to the conversation with Max who basically had stars in his eyes.

"I'm sure you do Mr. Pokémon Master." Cynthia teased which made him laugh.

"Cynthia, how is the region of Suna now anyway? I've never been there but Max said it was amazing when he went for his gym badges." May said with a confused expression.

"Ah. It's beautiful. If you've ever seen pictures or been to Lumiose City in Kalos, Suna is basically like that everywhere. Just a massive city after a massive city. Some have skyscrapers. Others just have medium buildings. But it's gorgeous. It doesn't have a contest circuit yet although I did hear that Wallace will be hosting the Wallace Cup there at the end of the year to introduce contests to the region." Cynthia said.

"That can work!" May said and clapped her hands together.

Cynthia thought that it would be difficult to get back into the whole group of friends thing but she was surprised at how comfortable everything was. Ash's friends were talking with her like she was a lifelong friend, Max is getting along with Blaze and Miranda so that's another plus, she didn't feel awkward anymore. It was just the shock of seeing Ash again but now, she feels so much more comfortable.

It was a good thing to come back after all.

 **Back In The Tower.**

The party went on for quite a while but eventually, as expected, it had ended because people needed a good night sleep. It wasn't an exception for her Elite. The whole room was dark, everyone having gone to bed but a dim orange glow caught Cynthia's attention. She followed it before noticing Miranda sitting on one of the chairs, her knees pulled to her chest, a book in her hand. She was dressed in her sleep wear which consisted of a blood red shirt and grey sweatpants.

Cynthia just realized that in her time of knowing the young woman, she's never had a one on one conversation with her. She approached before sitting down across from her, not being able to see the title of the book due to the dim lighting.

"Can I help you?" Miranda asked, her finger laying on the page and her ruby eyes now looking at Cynthia with a hint of boredom behind them.

"Just want to see how you're doing. You didn't look like you were having much fun." She replied and Miranda shrugged.

"Not much for social gatherings."

"Not much for gatherings... or not much on getting recognized and swarmed by a mob?" Cynthia asked and saw the two red orbs gaze deeply into her grey.

"Is there a difference?" Miranda finally said after a bit and her eyes return to her book.

"You don't like being seen in the open I guess. It comes with the territory. You're a highly recognized model.-"

"Are you reaching a point? Or just seeking conversation? If it's the latter, you're wasting your time." Miranda suddenly said.

"I want you to know that it gets easier. It's a struggle at first but it'll get easier." Cynthia said.

"Good to know." She said with a nod. "Anything else?"

"Yes... lighten up." She said and Miranda looked at her, completely blank.

"I only lighten up around people I'm comfortable around."

"Like Blaze?" Cynthia asked and Miranda shrugged.

"He's easy to hang out with. Naturally, I'm more drawn to people I relate to easier." She said simply.

"You didn't like him at first glance."

"Opinions change. Are we going to sit here and talk about the fact I have one friend or may I return to my book?" She asked.

"Very well. Enjoy your book. But I am your friend too." Cynthia said before standing up and heading to her room.

"Perhaps." Miranda said to herself and looked back down at her book.

Cynthia sighed as she reached her room and sat down on the bed. She had no problem being friends with her other three but she always struggled with Miranda. And now with her new found popularity, she seems to sink more and more into her own anti social bubble. Yet, around Blaze, she feels more comfortable to talk with others.

She didn't know what to do. She could ask Blaze to convince Miranda to be more open but that wouldn't work. They get along too well. Blaze respects her for her and asking him to change her would be like taking a kids favorite toy and breaking it and saying it's still their favorite. You've broken it.

It's no longer the same toy it once was. Miranda doesn't get along very well with the other Elites either but she's still social with them. She voices her opinions, takes sides, trains with the others. She still does that. But she just doesn't get along.

Her fame wasn't getting to her. That's a good thing cause she still is the same Miranda as always. She groans and decides to just sleep on it. Maybe some random miracle will happen that will help her open up to others. Even if it's not to everyone.

 **Next Day V.I.P. Box**

Cynthia didn't get much sleep so she dozed off for some of the first preliminary matches. However, Ash entering the VIP area and sitting next to her woke her up since he started some small chit chat.

"Max is next. He's been really pumped up ever since he talked to your two Elites. He wouldn't stop talking about them. Apparently they gave him advice. Quite a bit of it. Now he said he's ready to take my title." Ash said with a chuckle which made Cynthia smile.

"Yea. They train together a lot. Figures they would give advice they both agree on." Cynthia said.

"Which reminds me, one of them is missing. Where's the smothered one?" He asked.

"Miranda wasn't in the mood to leave the tower. I honestly don't know. I get along with all my Elites but then... there's Miranda. The one who constantly gets away when I try to get closer." Cynthia said and sighed. "I tried talking to her last night but she basically pushed me away that whole conversation."

"Maybe you're approaching it the wrong way. You keep trying to push her for conversation when you should be letting her come to you. Max started talking with Blaze yet Miranda joined half way in. She approached. If Max would have approached her, odds are she would be put off even more. Look at it from her perspective. She's got guys fawning over her, approaching her left and right and not giving her a moment to herself. Having others approaching her when she wants to be left alone, well then that is just awful. Just give her space and time. She might surprise you." He said with a smile before his eyes look back towards the field and Cynthia takes in his words.

 **Down on the Battlefield**

Max strolled out onto the field, his eyes landing on the guy across from him who looked like he wasn't much older if even older at all. Short brown hair and brown eyes. A simple blue t shirt and jeans with shoes. The referee climbs onto his podium before beginning to speak.

"The next Preliminary match will now get under way. On the Red side, we have Max Maple of Petelburgh! And on the Green side, we have Bryce of Twinleaf Town! Only one Pokemon per side. No form changes allowed. The spinner will now commence and will decide who gets the first move!" He said and the spinner, half colored red and the other colored green, began to spin.

After several seconds, the Spinner stopped on green and Bryce grinned.

"And it's green! Bryce, please send out your Pokémon." The ref said and Bryce pulled out a Pokeball before throwing it onto the field to reveal a large light blue alligator on two feet.

"Feraligatr." Max said softly as he thumbs a Pokeball before grabbing it and tossing it. "Let's go Manetric!" He yelled and the dog looking electric type landed, immediately taking a battle position as it found its opponent.

"Alright, Gatr. Start us off with **Work Up**!" He said and swords formed around Feraligatr, clashing together and his body glowed to signal the raise in stats.

"Manetric, use **Thunderbolt**!" Max yelled and the dog growled before howling as electricity left its body, going straight towards the feraligatr.

"Dodge and use **Work Up** again!" He said.

"Don't give him a chance! **Thunder Fang**!"

Feraligatr dodged to the side and was about to pull off the move but Manetric suddenly dashed forward, sinking his glowing yellow teeth into Feraligatr's arm, making him squeal in pain as the electricity flew everywhere from the super effective attack.

"Get him off with **Ice Punch**!" Bryce yelled.

"Quick, **Thunder**!" Max yelled back.

Feraligatr's fist started to glow and smoke started to leave it as he prepared to punch Manetric only to shriek in pain as Manetric let out a thunder, still clinging to Feraligatr.

"Get him off! Now!" Bryce pleaded.

"Don't let up!" Max said.

Feraligatr tried desperately to get rid of the nuisance that was biting on him only to recieve Thunder after Thunder attack, eventually forcing the Alligator to its knees. Manetric pulled back and went back to Max's side, pacing and watching carefully.

" **Hyper Beam**!" Bryce suddenly yelled and Feraligatr's eyes snapped open and he released a massive dark purple line of energy from his mouth, Manetric staring at it in shock before he was hit, slamming against the wall and sliding down it, whining in pain.

"Manetric!" Max yelled and sighed in relief as Manetric wobbled to its feet slowly.

 **Back in the VIP Box**

"That was a strong attack, alright. Hyper beam is strong as is. couple that with an attack stat upgrade, you've got a deadly weapon." Lance said and Ash nodded.

 **Battlefield**

"You've left Feraligatr wide open." Max said. " **Thunder** max power!" Max yelled.

Manetric howled and released a massive yellow light, electricity bursting out of him and into the sky only to come crashing down on Feraligatr, exploding and kicking up a black dust cloud. Manetric pants heavily, his eyes staring at the dust cloud until it finally began to clear out, revealing a charred and fainted Feraligatr.

"Feraligatr, no!" Bryce yelled.

"Feraligatr is unable to battle. Manetric is the winner which means advancing to the first official round is Max of Petelburgh!" He yelled which received cheers from the crowd as Bryce returns Feraligatr and approaches Max.

"Not bad. Not bad all. I was expecting a longer battle but I guess this just proves that I've got a long way to go." He said.

"Give yourself more credit. This is the Master League." Max said with a grin and Bryce chuckled.

"You're not wrong." He said and shook his hand.

 **VIP Box**

"How many of these are left anyway? I'm itching to get out there." Lance asked.

"Six." Cynthia replied simply.

"Well there's your answer, Lance." Steven said with a chuckle at the redheads reaction.

Cynthia smiled at their small bickering, deciding to let her mind wander once more. The rest of the matches weren't very important. As rude as that sounded, they weren't. She found herself agreeing with Lance. She wanted to get out there too.

The next six matches went by fairly fast. Misty and Brock won as well, Brock using Steelix and Misty using Golduck so the chances of Cynthia facing off against one of them was higher now. She was glad that the preliminaries were over but there were still two more rounds before she or anyone else in her group could begin fighting.

Once the six ended, she had taken off, Ash quickly following her though and they had a small conversation as he walked Cynthia back to the tower. She appreciated the gesture and they had a good time but whenever they got there, they arrived to a sight that made them both frown. A woman was sitting on a rather expensive motorcycle and people were crowding her and not letting her have any space to breathe and without the space, she took off her helmet, black hair bursting from the helmet and gently cascading down her back to about her hips, red eyes opening and looking around at the people.

Cynthia actually didn't remember a time that those red eyes looked so... scared. Miranda was trying to find room to climb off her motorcycle but every time she did, a reporter would get in her face and make her back away and try to find another route. Ash quickly jogged over to the group of reporters and fans and whistled to get their attention. It didn't work at first and he could hear her trying to tell them to give her space so he yelled.

"Hey!" They quieted down and turned to face him.

"You're scaring her. Back off." He said, his voice dangerous and the Pikachu on his shoulders narrowed his round eyes, sparks emitting from his cheeks. "You wouldn't like people shoving microphones in your face and asking 50 questions at the same time. Have the decency to do what you would want others to do if you were in her shoes and back off."

The mob of people looked at him for a second before slowly backing away and leaving, Ash approaching Miranda who was visibly shaking a little despite not being cold.

"You alright? It's overwhelming for first timers. Regardless of age." He said and she nods.

"Yea..." Her voice sounded slightly weaker probably due to her fear taking it away.

"Go on up to your room. I'll make sure they don't follow." He said.

"I need to lock my bike." She muttered softly and he nods, letting her lock it before she leaves into the tower, Cynthia approaching Ash.

"The poor girl just can't catch a break. It'll be impossible to get along with her if this keeps up. She'll be more afraid around people than anything else." She said and Ash nods.

"Usually the crowds aren't so bad. But since she's new and isn't really trying to incorporate this new life into her schedule, she's trying to live as if her life is still free of cameras and stalkers. She's driving around like nobody's business but it is everyone's business and that's what she doesn't understand. Her life isn't her life anymore. It's just a tool for the media and gossip now." He said with a sigh.

"But she doesn't understand." Cynthia said and he nods.

"The whole quiet and antisocial way doesn't bode well for her. Because she'll need to be social to at least keep them satisfied. Press conferences, signings, the like. But just from looking at her, you can tell something huge." He said.

"And what's that?" She asked.

"She's afraid of people. Not because of the mobs. But before. The mobs are only increasing her phobia." He said.

"But she's a model. A successful one I might add. How does she have a fear of people?" She asked.

"It could be possible that she was introduced into the industry by a familiar face that she trusted. That familiarity and comfort allowed her to get into the company easily and comfortably and perhaps, she usually wants to take that comfort with her where she goes, using the safety as a kind of crutch." He said, scratching his chin in thought.

"I can't believe she's got it so bad. That would explain her distance and lack of communication without Blaze ar-... Blaze." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"Blaze. She's only comfortable talking with us when Blaze is around. He's her safety crutch." Cynthia said and Ash nods.

"It seems so. She was bombarded by those trainers, she went to him and then felt comfortable enough to talk with Max. Without him around, she won't talk with you. You've never had a one on one with her because she needs that safety or she shuts down. I was wrong about her having to approach you." He said.

"What happens if Blaze is separated from her for too long?" Cynthia asked.

"Ummm. My guess, she'll probably go crazy. She'll shut down completely and not speak a word. Just try and find her safe haven. And when she realizes it's gone, you lose her. At least, that's what I think." He said.

"Yea. Listen, I gotta head on up. I'll take everything you said into consideration and see what I can do." She said and Ash nods before smiling.

"Make sure you help her. She's a good girl. Just afraid." He said with a smile and waves as they head their separate ways.

Cynthia pondered over everything that was said, frowning at this. She knew Miranda was quiet but afraid? She didn't seem like the type. Yet, everything is pointing to it. She reached her door and walked in, hearing a voice she recognized as Miranda talking. She walks closer but stays hidden until she can peak and noticed Miranda and Blaze sitting on the couch, Miranda leaning close to him.

"I froze up. I just hate it. I get so scared." She said softly and Blaze frowned.

"It doesn't help that you can read minds. Usually what people are thinking isn't exactly the healthiest to be listening to. So I understand what you mean." He said.

"You'd be the only one." She muttered, getting closer.

"I feel like talking to a professional about this is the safest action. Anthrophobia is absolutely a huge deal." He said and she shakes her head.

"I can't. I can't do it. I shut down. I can't." She said softly, her eyes closed. "Help me." She said.

"I'm doing what I can but, it's a very difficult thing to cure. Especially because it's worse now than it was months back. We're making one step forward, five steps back." He said.

"I know. I'm trying. But... I can't get it out of my head. My parents on the floor, my hands covered in their-"

"Stop thinking about it. You're only going to make yourself even worse." Blaze interrupted.

Cynthia gasped at what she heard, immediately covering her mouth from the loud gasp but it was too late. Miranda was already on her feet.

"I can sense your fear." She said in a monotone voice as she approaches Cynthia and Blaze stands up. "It's pulling me towards you."

Her hair starts to float as her eyes glowed red, Blaze stopping her.

"Hey, Miranda. I think it's time for you to go to sleep." He said and she relaxed, looking at him.

"I don't want to. You know what happens." She said softly.

"I'll be right there. Okay?" He asked and she looked down for a second before nodding and walking to her room and Blaze approaches Cynthia.

She slowly reveals herself and he frowns.

"You can't be hearing that. She's not well." Blaze said.

"I want to help." She said.

"You can't. She's not comfortable around you."

"She's afraid. That's what Ash said." Cynthia said.

"It's worse than that but that's the gist."

"I was also simplifying. It was clear as day for him." Cynthia said and Blaze sighed.

"She's not sleeping well. We'll continue this another time." He said as he walks to Miranda's room before walking in and closing the door gently.

Cynthia rubbed her face and sighed as she makes her way to her room.

 **Next Morning**

Cynthia couldn't get last night out of her mind. Eating breakfast in the room this time instead of the cafeteria, she took notice of the changes that went through Miranda from last night to this morning. The girl went from being horrified of everyone and then angry to her typical quiet self, simply on the couch, reading the same book as the last time only much deeper into it. It almost looks like nothing ever happened. She noticed Blaze sitting down and she leaned forward before whispering.

"She's completely normal. What did you do?" She asked.

"She's a psychic. I took out Espeon and calmed her down with Espeons psychic powers. Let her have a good nights sleep for once." He said simply.

"That's it?" She asked and he nods.

"That's it." He replied. "It's a temporary fix. At least until I can get her help."

"You really think she'll accept that?" She asked.

He shakes his head before looking over at Miranda who was still reading.

"She won't. But she's also not in the right state of mind to be deciding this. Might even see if I can get her to drop out." He said.

"That won't happen." Miranda suddenly spoke up which made them turn to face her, her red eyes glaring. "I refuse to drop this. And you would do well to respect that."

"Nobody is taking your choices away. But you're not well." Blaze said as Phyllip and Charlie come out for breakfast.

"I'm just fine!" She yelled at him which made the two newcomers jump in surprise. "I don't need help! I'm not some basket case who needs help from some damn psychiatrist! I'm not dropping out and I'm not changing my so called wrong state of mind!" She snapped before standing up and walking out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Everyone stayed silent before Charlie spoke up.

"What's going on?" She asked and Cynthia waved it off.

"She just needs time to cool off." She said with a sigh.

"That seemed a bit extreme." Phyllip said and she rubbed her temples.

She wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to get closer to Miranda, but she instead pushed her farther away and Blaze was also having a bad go now. She was so lost.

 **A/N: Well, there's that. We see a preliminary match and Cynthia struggling to bond with her 3rd Elite. Ash gave her some advice but there's saying and doing she won't make it easy. Miranda is introduced to have a fear of humans for the most part which seems to slowly be eating away at her and making her closed off and distant. Adding the horrible mob that she seems to have built up?**

 **It is a recipe for disaster. I kind of exaggerated the group who follows her around because she's still new and it would help enhance her fear of people cause I'm just an asshole like that. Haha! Haven't decided how to fix her or get her closer to everyone else but this is the beauty of writing and planning. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till next one!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So for this chapter, I'm planning on centering it around Miranda and how she deals with the fear she has. I might do this throughout the chapters, giving different characters the entire spotlight. But it also might leave out some parts of the tournament such as this chapter so I'll have someone summarize what happened so people know what's going on despite not seeing it. Maybe show bits of it.**

Chapter 5: Her Crutch and Dominating round 3

Miranda sighed as she sped down the roads away from the league. She was fine. She didn't understand why it was that Cynthia and Blaze were so worried about her. She slowed to a stop, pulling to the side of the road and frowning as she pulled off her helmet, her red eyes gazing at the open road in front of her as tears slowly formed. She had messed up.

Was that really what she needed though? No! She doesn't need help! She's just fine the way she is and shes hurt that Blaze couldn't accept her the way she was. His approval didn't mean anything to her but she relied on him to understand her and she thought he would take her side.

But he didn't. When she needed him, he left her. That's right, he doesn't like her. He puts up with her. That's what they all did.

He was quick to jump to Cynthia and completely left her in the dust! How dare he!? She gripped her head tightly, snapping her eyes shut and whimpered until a pokeball opening made her eyes snap open, tears sliding down her face. Espeon materialized in front of her and mewed as she tried to form a psychic connection with her trainer but was met with resistance. A lot of it.

 _'Miranda.'_ Espeon tried to say but Miranda only heard a soft mew and she gripped her hair tightly.

'What am I doing? Why am I leaving? Because that blond bitch took your friend! But she's my friend too. That bitch isn't your friend! She doesn't understand you! Blaze does and he seems to be comfortable with her. She has corrupted him!'

"Shut up!" She suddenly yelled which made Espeon jump back in surprise and looked at Miranda worried, feeling the inner turmoil she had with herself.

"I need to get back! Shut up!" She yelled into the open air and Espeon suddenly forced herself into Miranda's mind, making her gasp, her eyes completely wide as they began to glow red slowly.

 _'Miranda! I need you to calm down!'_

'Espeon?' Miranda said in her head.

 _'Yes. I'm here. Please calm down my dear friend. You're having a mental breakdown. Please... go back. Accept help.'_

"No!" She yelled out. "I'm not crazy!" She said, crying and Espeon looked at her trainer sadly.

 _'Denial is a natural part of it. You're becoming worse.'_ Espeon said through their connection

"I'm not! I'm completely fine! Never better." She yelled before gripping her head in pain, Espeon frowning as the connection was severed.

 _'Please return. I beg.'_ Espeon said to herself as she watched her trainer crying.

She was going crazy and Espeon could only sit and watch.

 **Back In The Tower.**

Blaze was sitting on the chair, the other three there as well as they all sat there silently.

"She's been gone a while." Charlie said, nervous about the elongated silence.

"Yea. I'm getting worried." Cynthia said.

Ash had told her Miranda might go crazy if she was seperated from Blaze for too long and she was worried that he was right.

 _'Alakazam, please teleport Blaze to my location.'_ Blaze heard Espeon's voice in his head and he blinked in surprise as Alakazam came out.

"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked and Blaze stood up.

"Espeon is calling us." He said and without another word, they disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the other three confused.

 **Outskirts of Indigo Plateau**

Alakazam arrived with Blaze and they immediately noticed a familiar Espeon sprinting to them.

"Espeon?" He asked.

 _'No time! Help her!'_ Espeon pleaded desperately and he was confused as to what she was talking about until he heard sobbing and looked forward, recognizing Miranda's motorcycle.

Next to it was someone sitting down with their knees to their chest, crying. He frowns and slowly approaches her, kneeling down in front of her.

"Mira?" He asked softly and went to touch her but she immediately slapped his hand away in fear, her breathing becoming much faster and her eyes wide with pure fear.

"Please don't hurt me." She whispered, her hands going back to her head and holding it tightly.

"Miranda, it's Blaze. Can you hear me?" He asked and went to touch her again but she suddenly yelled.

"No!" A red Psychic wave burst from her body, sending Blaze soaring right to a car but her Espeon immediately dashed forward and used Psychic on the car to slow it down, Alakazam immediately using Psychic to get Blaze away from the car that had almost hit him.

He grunts as he lands on the ground before quickly climbing to his feet and approaching Miranda again who had gone back to whispering to herself as she held her head.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly.

"Liar!" She suddenly growled, her eyes glowing red as her hair began to float around her and she slowly climbed to her feet, her hand lifting up and Blaze was surrounded by a red outline and was suddenly lifted up.

 _'Miranda!'_ Espeon tried to yell but the mind of the young woman was like a fortress right now and nobody was breaking through.

"You are nothing!" She spat, venom in her tone as she approaches slowly. "Disgusting creatures like you need to be wiped from existence. Heartless. Perhaps I'll take out your heart."

His eyes widen in pain as he coughs, crunching being heard as her eyes narrowed, his chest expanding out as he coughs harder.

 _'Miranda!'_ Espeon yelled much louder and finally managed to snap her out of it, Miranda gasping and immediately dropping Blaze who coughed heavily as he groans in pain and slowly tries to push himself up.

Miranda covered her mouth as tears spilled from them again and she falls to her knees in front of him, slowly reaching forward to touch him but immediately stopped, her heart beating like crazy. She was afraid of him. Why was she afraid of him? He never hurt her or did anything wrong to her yet she couldn't bring herself to touch him.

Then the truth hit her like a ton of bricks crashing on her head. She was afraid of what she would do to him. The only human she wasn't afraid around and suddenly, she ruined herself of that. She was dangerous. That's what the issue was.

"Blaze... I think I'm in trouble." She whispered to herself as she notices him slowly manage to sit up and she immediately backed away until her back was against the motorcycle, trembling and clenching her fists against her tightly.

"Miranda... let me help you." He said which made her eyes widen.

Why? Why was he still willing to help her? She just tried to kill him and probably would have and yet the first thing he does is offer her help. She immediately shakes her head.

"No!" She yelled. "I almost killed you." She said softer now, her voice cracking a little.

"You're just not feeling well. But we can figure it out." He said.

Something inside of her snapped and her eyes immediately glared at him.

"No. I'm fine. You however, you're going to need help" She spat out suddenly, slowly climbing to her feet and he frowns.

"What are you going to do, Miranda? Where will you go?" He asked.

"Away from here! Away from all of you!" She suddenly yelled at him and he simply crossed his arms.

"Sure. I'm sure you want to do that. Okay. Go right ahead." He said and looks at her.

Her eyes grow wide and her fists clench. He doesn't care after all. He doesnt care about her! That asshole lied to her this whole time!

"How dare you!?" She spat out.

"Hm?" He simply tilted his head.

"You lied to me! Made me believe you cared and now you're just going to let me be!?" She yelled at him.

"Ummm nooooo. I'm letting you go cause you just said and I quote 'away from here. Away from all of you.' So go right ahead. If it'll make you happy."

Something inside of her completely just broke. Her heart. She was wounded. So very wounded at what he had just said. He didn't even acknowledge his lack of care for her.

"Why do you not care about me!? I trusted you! Confided in you my deepest secrets and you don't even care about me!" She yelled at him.

She immediately stepped back as she watched him approach but her motorcycle was preventing her from moving any farther back. She was about to go around it but he suddenly grabbed her wrist and her eyes widen, fear exploding inside of her and she screamed, immediately trying to get away from his hold but he always was stronger physically and she couldn't concentrate to use her psychic. She wanted to scream for help. She wants to escape. She was terrified.

"Don't do anything to me! Please!" She begged and tried to get away but he just wouldn't let go and she forced herself to look at him with her hardest glare but he simply looked at her blankly.

She was going to die. She was going to die alone on an abandoned street. No. She couldn't! But she was getting dizzy.

Her eyes slowly grew weak and she suddenly collapsed but Blaze caught her. She had passed out. She was so scared that her body shut down to save her. He gently lifts her up and looks at Alakazam.

"Take her back. I'll bring her stuff and Espeon back." He said and Alakazam gently got her before teleporting away.

 _'You knew this would happen. You knew that if you scared her enough, she would snap and pass out.'_ Espeon said and he nodded as he climbed onto her bike and Espeon climbs onto his shoulder and curled up around his neck.

'Yep. There was no way she would return willingly without a lot more persuasion and I just don't think she could take it.' He thought as he turned on her motorcycle.

 _'Not in her current state.'_ Espeon confirmed.

'Exactly. Let's talk to her once she's had some time to relax.' He thought as he took off driving.

 _'Easier said than done.'_ Espeon said with a sigh and he nodded.

'True. But a clear mind is a focused mind.' He said.

 _'Alright heavenly messiah. Let's see what you come up with.'_ She said and Blaze chuckled as they drove back to the tower.

 **Two Days Later.**

Miranda's eyes slowly fluttered open and she groans a little, the sunlight flashing through her window. She tried to sit up and winced, holding her head a little as she rubs it and looks around. Where was she? Her bed, a nightstand, her suitcase. She was back in her room. Great.

She took a deep breath before freezing as she heard voices outside the room. But they weren't voices she recognized. Her heart started beating faster and her breathing grew faster, looking around desperately in the room when she stopped as the door knob to her room slowly began to turn. She always locked her door. How could she forget this time?

She climbed to her feet and tried to control her breathing, slowly approaching the door as it opens. She held her breath and as soon as she saw the shadow of someone, she immediately got out of hiding and slammed her fist towards the persons face only for him to catch it.

"Miranda! Relax! Just me!" Blaze quickly said and her eyes widen and she immediately pulled back, looking away towards the ground.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's okay. Glad to see you're back to being yourself. Here." He said and handed her some bacon and eggs with biscuits and she looked at it, her stomach growling.

She silently accepted it before walking past him and noticing that nobody was there. He must have been talking with his Pokémon and she just accidentally read their minds. She set it on the table and he handed her orange juice which she accepted.

"Where is everyone?" She asked as she starts to eat.

"Watching the second round to see who moves on to the third." He replied and sits next to her.

"Then why are you here? I thought you didn't care about-... did you say round two?" She asked.

"Yea. You were out for two days. Which answers your question about why you're so hungry. And I do care about you." He said and she looked at him, her eyes glowing red for a moment before she goes back to eating.

"Then why did you do that to me? I was terrifed." She said, poking at her food, avoiding his eyes.

"I needed to get you back here somehow. Kicking and screaming would attract attention. So you passed out and Alakazam took you here." He said and she frowns before sniffing.

"You smell bad." She said and he chuckles.

"That's not me. That's you." He said and she looks at him before touching her hair and resisting the urge to gag the food she was eating. She hadn't gotten out of bed for two days.

"Ummm..." She started, her face slowly flushing red. "the umm... the bathroom..." she muttered and he laughs which made her flare up red in embarrassment.

"Relax. Apparently you've been holding it in while you slept. So I recommend eating and then... brushing your teeth, showering, and using your other business." He said and she nods, her hair hiding her face as she ate.

The voices she was hearing, the uncertainty, the fear, the uncomfortable terror inside of her. It was all gone. She was comfortable around him again and she thanked Arceus for that. She didn't know what she did to have this life. She didn't know anything anymore.

"The voices are gone." She muttered and he looked at her.

"What voices?" He raised an eyebrow and she stared at her food.

"I'm not well. I... I thought I would be okay but... I'm not. I'm hearing things. I was terrified of you. I trust you above everyone else and I felt like I would die from how afraid I was. I was angry at you and... jealous of Cynthia. I fought with a voice in my head." She admitted.

"Why are you jealous? What did it say?" He asked her and she couldn't help but feel warm at his concern.

He did still care. It wasn't just empty words.

"I just... I was jealous that you didn't take my side and instead chose to side with her. I felt so betrayed. So very angry. Jealous. So many different emotions. But I realize now that you both simply wish to help me. But I don't want her help. I'm not comfortable with her like I am you. I'm on edge when you aren't in the room. So I refuse." She said as she finished eating and stood up.

"Are you sure? Just me won't be easy." He said and she looks at him before doing something Blaze has almost never seen her do.

Miranda smiled at Blaze. A genuine smile that he wasn't sure he would see ever again.

"I trust you." Was all she said before walking to her room, leaving Blaze frowning.

 _I trust you._ God those words meant the world to him coming from her but they revolved around such an extreme case. She was putting all her faith in his basket and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to save her. She needed professional help. But who did he call? Who would you confide in when you're literally afraid of everyone.

He decided that he needed some external opinions. He stood up and walked to her bathroom, knocking.

"I'm heading out for a bit. Make sure to lock up." He said and Miranda simply said okay which made him nod before walking out of the room.

 **Inside The Stadium.**

Blaze knew that if there were was someone he could trust with this, it was Cynthia. He turned a corner and noticed Cynthia sitting on a bench, chatting away with Ash. Someone he's seen her with quite a lot since the tournament started.

"Well don't you two look cozy? When's the wedding? I want to make sure to mark my plus one and have my 'how we spend our nights' toast ready." He teased as he approached but Cynthia turned to face him and shot back.

"I don't think people want to hear how you and Miranda sleep together in MY toast." She said.

"Oof! That's painful. Especially since you joined in once. You telling me all of it was fake? Every sound?" He covered his mouth and fake gasped. "I've said too much."

Ash laughed and shook his head.

"You two. Wow. Blaze, I'm sure you didn't come here to throw banter back and forth." He said and Blaze shook his head.

"Absolutely right. It's about Miranda." He said and since his joking tone was gone, they both looked at him intently at the sound of her name.

"She woke up from her Anxiety attack?" Cynthia asked and Blaze nodded.

"She seems to be back to normal. But I don't know how long that'll last." He said.

"Judging from the story, anxiety attack is putting it simple. From what I heard, you put the fear of Arceus into that poor woman. So we should call it terror attack. But, on a more serious note, you clearly came to us cause you need advice. On what?" Ash asked.

"She admitted to needing help. I tried convincing her to accept more help but she just said that she trusted me. The problem is, I don't trust myself with a responsibility that big. So I want to get her professional help but..."

"You don't know who to trust with something this big." Ash confirmed and Blaze nods.

"I was hoping maybe you guys might have an idea." He said and scratched his head.

"Wow, you really don't feel comfortable asking for help." Ash said with a grin.

"Bite me, child." Blaze simply said and Ash pouts.

"Hello? Serious issue at hand." Cynthia interjected and they both stop.

"Right. I can make a few calls to some friends. See if Brock knows anyone too. I'll contact Cynthia and Cynthia can let you know." Ash said and Cynthia nods.

"Yea, that can work. I'll keep a lookout as well. For now, I recommend finding some medication she can take for when she needs it. Monitor her. Do not let her overdo it." Cynthia said seriously and Blaze nods.

"I know what I'm doing to that extent. Keep me posted." He said and and they nod and he walks off.

"You think she'll be fine?" Ash asked.

"Miranda is tough. Really tough. Trust me. She'll pull through. I have no doubt in my mind." Cynthia said in thought before talking again. "And seriously with the banter? How old are you two? 12?"

"You don't understand love." Ash said, shaking his head and Cynthia looks at him completely blank faced.

"Look who's talking." She said and he looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked and she couldn't help but laugh and push him.

"Nothing at all. Come on. The next match should be starting soon." She said and stood up, Ash joining her with a frown.

 **Nearest Hospital**

Blaze had swung by the tower and convinced Miranda to go to a hospital and then hopped on Charizard with her. He took them to the nearest hospital before Blaze hopped off of Charizard and pet his starter as he tries to get Miranda off who didn't look comfortable at all.

"Wait here my dear friend." Blaze said and Charizard nods, watching as Blaze gently pulls a terrifed Miranda into the hospital.

Once inside, she basically clung to him and pressed up to his back, shrinking as much as possible and closed her eyes and he frowns. He leads her to a front desk and he looked at the receptionist.

"Hi there." He said and she looks up.

"Oh. Hello. Do you have an appointment with us today?" She asked and he shook his head.

"No. I'm looking for medication that can help my friend here." He said, signaling to the terrified woman behind him and the receptionist frowned.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"She's afraid of humans. I seem to be the only exception. I realize that you normally need a doctor to prescribe medication as he or she sees fit depending on the person but we can't really wait that long. She's getting worse every day." He said and the receptionist looked back at Miranda who cowered further back, her heart pounding in her chest at being close to so many people and her hands were sweating.

It was gross but she couldn't really care at the moment. She was too busy trying her hardest not to have an anxiety attack or just, pass out in general. So far it was working but she was so uncomfortable.

"Blaze. Please let's just leave and do this over the phone." She said softly, shifting closer and clinging to him as her eyes look around the white hospital, people staring at her weirdly, all the sounds, phones, people talking, papers shuffling.

She was going insane and she was so scared. So very scared.

"In a minute." He said softly and she frowned, watching him go back to talking with the receptionist.

She slowly let go of Blaze and her heart rate sky rocketed as she slowly backs away, trying to reach the exit when someone accidentally bumps into her and she let out an ear piercing scream, immediately stumbling away from the man only to bump into someone else, her eyes wide as she turns every direction, her heart rate blowing up as her terror takes her over, eyes all looking in her direction and she suddenly feels dizzy, stumbling as her breathing comes out quickly, turning and turning at all the faces looking at her confused and she suddenly collapsed to her knees, covering her ears and screaming in fear, trembling like crazy as she snaps her eyes shut, tears slowly spilling from her eyes.

"Get away from me!" She yelled before bursting out crying, clinging to her head tightly and keeping her eyes closed, refusing to open them for anything.

She felt two hands touch her and she opened her eyes in pure fear, snapping her head to the source before letting out a sob of relief as she noticed it was Blaze and not some random stranger.

"Okay. Okay, let's head back." He said sadly and scoops her up, Miranda clinging to him like a life line, Blaze apologizing as he walks out of the hospital.

"Please don't leave me." She whimpered. "Please. I'm sorry." She buries her face into his chest before crying more and he sighs.

Charizard noticed the two returning and looks at him quizzically.

"Guess it didn't work, bud." He said and Charizard simply blows smoke from his nose and leans down, allowing Blaze and Miranda to climb on.

"I'm trying." She said softly and closes her eyes as Charizard takes off into the skies.

"I know. Nobody is saying you aren't. It's just proving to be hard." He said and she frowns and hugs his waist.

"I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you. Making you the only person I get along with." She said. "It wasn't by choice."

"I know. You're okay. It's okay." He said and felt her shake her head.

"No, I'm not. I'm not okay. You know this so stop lying to me. Please at least have the decency to tell me the truth when it comes to my condition. There is no cure." She mumbled and Blaze frowned.

"Stop being such a pessimist. It'll all work out in the end and I will make sure of that." He said roughly which made her frown.

"How can you know that? You are being too optimistic. At least be a realist. There is a solid chance that I won't be fixed! I might die never knowing what it feels like to be able to walk the street and smile at people! I have fans! People I'm AFRAID of and can't interact with. It's killing me! I might never find love! I have never had that chance because I have always been horrifed by the concept!" She said and Blaze could hear the pain in her voice and he narrowed his eyes before suddenly forcing Charizard to make a sharp turn.

Miranda screamed in surprise and clung to him.

"What are you doing!?" She yelled over the wind but he stayed silent, whispering something to his Charizard who nodded and dove down before flapping his wings and taking off.

"Blaze stop!" She pleaded but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

She noticed Charizard landing in the forest and Blaze hopped off, Miranda completely confused as Blaze took out Alakazam and teleported away.

"Hey!" She yelled and immediately hopped off Charizard who stepped in front of her.

 _'Wait here.'_ His deep voice said and she frowned.

"I wasn't reading your mind. Now I am though. What did you say?" She asked.

 _'I said to wait here. This is important.'_ His deep voice rumbled and she froze.

She was surprised by his tone. It was so deep and rough. She knew it was going to be deep but that was ridiculous.

"What's so important?" She asked and he stayed silent which made her frown.

Blaze teleported back and returned Alakazam to the ball before climbing Charizard.

"Come on." He said and she frowns but climbs on.

 **Back At The Plateau**

Charizard landed in front of a building and Miranda felt her stomach twist. There was a long line stretching from the building all the way outside and around the block. She frowned as he led her inside and she immediately froze before turning around only for Blaze to stop her. There were camera men and women everywhere.

"What is this?" She asked him and he sighs.

"We may not be able to get rid of your fear. But you want this. You want to be able to interact with the people who follow you. You clearly care about them. So show them. And I will be right here with you the ENTIRE process." He said and Miranda looked at him horrified.

"Blaze... no. I can't. I... I can't do that. I don't know!" She said loudly and he smiles at her.

"I will be right with you." He said and she looked around before looking at him.

She wanted this. She did. It was just so hard. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. She swallowed hard and Blaze lead her to the podium, people immediately seeing her and cheering loudly and Camera's immediately started rolling. She stood in front of the podium and her eyes looked over everyone as they quieted down.

She gripped her hands tightly to the podium and took a deep breath.

"Hi." She said weakly and immediately cleared her throat. "Hi." She said with a more clear voice.

Blaze watched her silently, watching as her eyes move to him for a second before moving back to the crowd.

"Just going... to uummm... clear the air... and explain why I have been avoiding everyone... here today." She said and her eyes fluttered as she felt the camera flashes hitting her.

She looked over at everyone before frowning, her heart rate increasing like crazy.

"Ummm... I... ermmm... okay... here goes... I've been avoiding everyone because I have Anthropophobia. Anthrophobia. For those who don't know, Anthropophobia means a fear of humans." She said, murmurs immediately rising up and she looks around.

She frowns sadly and tries to talk.

"Please lower your voice." She said softly but the murmurs grew louder and she tried again but no dice.

"Hey! Zip it!" Blaze yelled out which made her jump in fear and everyone to quiet down, camera's still clicking.

"Thank you." clears her throat. "Okay... look. It's a real phobia and I've got it bad. Okay? I am suffering every day to walk down the street because I nearly have a heart attack." She said before looking at Blaze and signaling him forward.

That confused everyone but she ignored that.

"This is Blaze. He's the only human I can remain comfortable around. Without him here, we aren't having this conversation. He's my lifeline. My sanity. Some view him as my crutch. Fine. He's my crutch. I need him otherwise I go crazy. There's nothing wrong with that. I want to love each and every one of you but it's too hard for me. It's hard for me to interact and I'm surprised it works right now." She said with a sigh.

They look at her with sympathy in their eyes and she frowns a little.

"But I'm managing. I know you want to hear from me and be my friend and be noticed but... it's too hard and you guys smothering me in the streets and not letting me breathe, it scares me. Gives me anxiety attacks and I just can't deal. Yet I'm here... trying my hardest to interact with you even though everything inside of me is telling me to run. Run and sprint the opposite direction. Get away from all of you." She said and shuddered out a breath.

She was doing this and she hadn't passed out... yet. She wasn't sure how long she could last.

"Here I am... willing and ready to get to know all of you." She said, her arms starting to tremble and she takes a deeper breath. "It will just... take me a while to get comfortable. Maybe longer than any of you would like. But if you could please have the patience and respect towards me while I fight this, it would mean the world to me. Please." She said.

They spoke quietly and she began to wonder if this was a good idea until someone stepped forward.

"We will always give you the respect you deserve. You can fight this." The young man said and shouts or murmers of agreement began to fill the room and she found herself smiling.

"Thank you. What's your name?" She asked and Blaze looked at her surprised.

"Liam." He said and she nodded.

She was right. The longer she did this, the easier it was getting. It definitely wasn't as easy as that but maybe... just maybe, she could finally interact with them.

"I want to get to know a little bit about all of you so is it possible to maybe just grab an extra mic and everyone can get into a line around the room? See if we can fit everyone in. Then when someone speaks, they move to the side and let someone elze come forward." She said and looked at Blaze who nodded.

"I think we can do that." He said and nodded at someone in the back.

He got a microphone and the teen known as Liam accepted it from Blaze and stepped forward a little. She was still far too afraid to do meet and greets and signings so this would work out just well.

"You said your name was Liam. Mine is Miranda. It's nice to meet you. I'm 22 years old and I like drawing and singing. I love classical music. I was born in Blackthorne in Johto. My favorite food is bacon and eggs with a biscuit or two in bed which is how it was for most of my life when I was younger due to being too afraid to leave my room. Now tell me some about you. Just some small info like I gave you." She said and he nods.

Miranda spent a long time up there. Thankfully, they had chairs so she ended up sitting down and getting to know everyone there a little. She was afraid. Yes. Almost basically horrifed at sitting in front of so many people but she slowly was getting used to it. It was so strange. Feeling somewhat comfortable around people she didn't know as much as others. It felt good.

 **Late At Night Back In The Tower**

Charizard landed with a soft thud in front of the tower, Blaze and Miranda hopping off of him and Blaze pet him before returning him.

"How do you feel?" He asked and she sighed.

"It felt good. Finally doing something I never once saw myself doing. It felt terrifying. Thought I would pass out... but good." She said and smiled and he chuckles and nods as he walks into the tower, leading them to their room and once they walk in, Cynthia was sitting at the table, looking at them.

"Have a good time?" She asked and Miranda shrugged.

"It was alright." Blaze said.

"Not going to give me details?" She asked.

"Well, I guess not." He replied.

"She seems to be alright. Somewhat so whatever you did, it helped." Cynthia said and smiled.

It did help but Miranda still closed herself off from everyone. It was not going to be easy. It wasn't going to take just one day. It would take a lot.

"What did we miss?" He asked her.

"Round one and two are done. Ash's friends all made it through. They are very excited to be able to face us now. And as expected, a lot of tough trainers are moving on to round three. The rankings of how tough an opponent is comes up tomorrow along with the next battles. Odds are we wont be ranked till round six." She said.

"Maybe we might. Never know." He said and smiles as he walks to his room, Miranda having long gone.

So Miranda made progress. It wasn't much progress but it was still progress. Perhaps there was hope for the girl after all.

 **Next Day**

Cynthia walked with her elite to the Pokémon Center where most of the trainers seemed to be. The rankings were up and she wanted to see who she should watch out for. She reached the rankings and her eyes widen in surprise. Sitting at number one was her. She was the most difficult opponent.

Standing at number two was Miranda who didn't seem to show even the slightest hint of caring. Although she did wonder how these rankings were decided. Number three was Lance which wasn't very surprising but it was still surprising considering he hasn't fought either. Misty was ranked four and Cynthia wasn't too surprised.

She has watched Misty fight and she was no slouch. Especially in this tournament. Max was standing at five and again, he's made it to round three after destroying his other opponents so she wasn't surprised. Brock was ranked at six but the rest were people she didn't know besides Alder and Steven. Miranda however recognized number nine. Liam. He had said he was in the tournament but Miranda wasn't expecting so high.

Another thing both Miranda and Cynthia were surprised with was that Blaze wasn't top ten. Although Cynthia already knew that once they see him battle, they will place him top four easy. Phyllip and Charlie weren't top 10 either but they were top 20. Overall, they were ranked fairly high considering how many people there still are.

Yes. Her main worries will most likely be her own Elites and maybe Lance. She knew she could beat Alder. Steven was very powerful as well. But he would undoubtedly fall along with the rest. She checked the matches before blinking and tapping Miranda who flinched and jumped in fear and surprise and Cynthia felt bad for the woman.

She had accidentally scared her. She signaled to the tournament ladder and Miranda looked over at it before nodding. She had a match in a few minutes against some no name Irrelevant who she would probably make her bitch during the match.

She walks away without another word and Cynthia blinked in surprise. She had to watch this. She hurried over to the stadium, people still filling in and her Elites following as well.

Miranda was nowhere to be seen but she was in the waiting room. She was as stoic as ever. She was completely calm, ready to take down this no name. As the trainers were called, they both walked out but Miranda refused to meet in the center.

"Round three of the Master League. This is a battle between Donovan Kyle of Twinleaf Town and Miranda Ruby of Cerulean City. This will be a three on three battle. Substitutions allowed. Form changes allowed. The spinner will decide who will send out their Pokémon first and have the first move." The Ref said.

"Hey, baby! Whenever I beat you, go ahead and help me carry home that trophy and maybe spend the night!" He yelled with a wink but Miranda simply stayed silent.

They called out the match between the two and the wheel began to spin to see who would go first. It landed on Green and Miranda wordlessly pulled out a Pokeball.

"Metagross." She said and tossed it, a massive white and gold metagross appearing and screaming out its name, kicking up wind as it did.

Up in the VIP box, Cynthia crossed her arms and leaned back.

"That poor boy. I didn't think she would pull out Metagross so early." She mused and the Champions looked at her confused but she just shook her head. "Just watch."

Donovan grinned and pulled out a Pokeball, throwing it and Magmortar materialized in front of the somewhat bulky man.

"Metagross vs Magmortar. Battle one, begin!" He yelled.

As soon as he did, Magmortar was surrounded by a blue outline and suddenly lifted before being thrown at high speeds to the wall, crashing right into it only to kick up a bunch of dust. In an instant, blue energy immediately surrounded Metagross, his two front legs snapping together and he took off in a blur, blue energy trailing behind him as he twirled quickly before crashing into the Magmortar through the dust cloud, more darker smoke being released as he blurred back to Miranda's side, her gaze completely blank as her eyes flashed red for a moment and Metagross flashed blue.

The smoke finally cleared and Magmortar was completely shoved into the wall, completely knocked out after only two hits and murmurs filled the stadium as Donovan fumbled for his Pokeball, finding it and wordlessly returning his strongest fire type.

 **VIP Box**

"Psychic immediately followed by Meteor Mash. Just two moves and Magmortar was down. The level difference between the two was far too great." Steven said.

"That's Miranda for you. No mercy." Cynthia said.

"We'll see how she does. She outranks me for some reason and I would like to know." Lance said.

 **Battlefield**

"Perfect." She said in a monotone voice but Metagross already received psychic praise so it didn't affect him.

"Tch! Not over yet!" He yelled and threw out another Pokeball, an Infernape materializing and flexing before grinning over at the Metagross.

"Battle two. Infernape vs Metagross. Begin!" The ref yelled.

" **Mach Punch**!" Donovan yelled and Infernape blurred forward.

" **Bullet Punch**." She said calmly and Metagross met Infernape first, sending a barrage of punches, sending Infernape tumbling back in pain. " **Psychic** and finish with **Earthquake**."

"Meta!" He yelled and his eyes glowed blue, lifting Infernape into the sky only to shove him down violently back into the earth as if he used dig only for him to explode from the ground as Metagross fired off earthquake, the ground shaking and cracking before Infernape lands weakly, knocked out.

"What!?" Donovan yelled as Infernape was pronounced defeated but sighed and returned his starter.

 **VIP Box** "Weren't kidding about that whole no mercy thing." Ash mused.

"No kidding. Poor guy just got bad luck in having her as an opponent." Cynthia said.

"I'm still not convinced." Lance said.

"Denial is the first stage." Steven said.

 **Battlefield**

Donovan had sent out Umbreon this time but Miranda showed no signs of switching. Metagross suddenly blurred forward once the final match was called and landed several punches on Umbreon, making it skid back in pain.

" **Dark Pulse**!" Donovan yelled and swirling dark purple energy flew out of Umbreons mouth, heading towards Metagross who blurred to the side and dodged.

"Wrap this up. **Brick Break** and **Hammer Arm**." She said calmly and Metagross blurred forward, both arms glowing white and Umbreon flinched from the speed, Metagross spinning suddenly and clashing both attacks on Umbreon, sending it soaring into the wall, crashing causing smoke to kick up once more as Donovan called out in worry.

Metagross returned to her side and she simply waits, the smoke clearing to reveal a battered and fainted Umbreon and Donovan looked at his Umbreon silently before returning him. Miranda returned Metagross without a word.

"Perhaps I'll be the one carrying the trophy home. And I'm not your baby." She said flatly and walked away from the stadium as she was pronounced the winner.

She got out before feeling a strong arm fling around her shoulder and pull her close which made her face slightly heat up.

"Awesome job. Metagross has gotten stronger since we last fought." Blaze said and she mumbled a thanks, hiding her red face.

She was used to receiving congrats from Blaze and she was used to being close to him. So why did she feel so nervous? She pushed it back and simply smiled a little.

"Can we get out of here? Head to the Pokémon Center then just get on my bike and find a place to eat maybe or something." She asked and he nods.

"Yea sure. Sounds fun. My match isn't until later anyway." He said and she felt herself get much happier about that than she should have and she nods, staying close to him as they head to the center to heal up as she fixes her button up shirt collar that Blaze had messed up.

 **A/N: Like was stated at the top, I'll give some characters the spotlight for a chapter most likely before reverting to the main story. Reason I'm doing this is to build their character and give a deeper look into their thoughts and how they feel. Next chapter, Cynthia will finally get to battle so you'll finally see just how much she's improved. I also made Miranda sweep the guy because she's among the strongest trainers there so beating someone from round three is like a practice session for her.**

 **Since she doesn't get along with people, having her silent for most of the match seemed like the way to go. Anyway, I'm having a blast with this! Have a good day/night and I'll see you next chapter!**


End file.
